So, my daughter Ella and I, maybe you<\/p>\n
remember Ella, she's three now. Uh, but<\/p>\n
we both suffer, I don't know if you know<\/p>\n
this, we suffer from the same disease,<\/p>\n
actually. Um, it's called<\/p>\n
FOMO. Um, so we can't stand on we can't<\/p>\n
we we can't stand to miss out on an<\/p>\n
opportunity for a party or for fun. So<\/p>\n
Kiki and Abigail and Ransom, they they<\/p>\n
they want to go home. Usually after<\/p>\n
church, they want to go and relax and<\/p>\n
just be at home. But if there's<\/p>\n
something going<\/p>\n
on, Ella and I have a really hard time<\/p>\n
saying no. So FOMO, of course, uh stands<\/p>\n
for fear of missing out, right? And it<\/p>\n
tends to primarily be an ex extrovert<\/p>\n
disease. But for those of us who suffer<\/p>\n
this from this disease now um every<\/p>\n
event, every party, every<\/p>\n
invitation, every whiff, every rumor of<\/p>\n
an<\/p>\n
invitation becomes a can'tmiss event. We<\/p>\n
just can't pass it up. So even but even<\/p>\n
if you don't have FOMO, you know, fear<\/p>\n
of missing out, you probably have felt<\/p>\n
the pull of an event or or some kind of<\/p>\n
invitation where you can't say no. who<\/p>\n
have to go to this because of maybe the<\/p>\n
party. You know the party's going to be<\/p>\n
good. You know who's throwing the party<\/p>\n
or you know someone who's going to be at<\/p>\n
the party. You've probably felt this<\/p>\n
before. Whenever I read Psalm 95, my<\/p>\n
FOMO kicks in. I don't know if you if<\/p>\n
you ever felt this. Psalm 95 is where<\/p>\n
we're going today. It's a can'tmiss<\/p>\n
invitation. It's a party. It's a<\/p>\n
gathering that you have to go to because<\/p>\n
of who's going to be there and because<\/p>\n
of how good the party's going to be and<\/p>\n
because who is throwing the party. But<\/p>\n
more than that, it's it's not just an<\/p>\n
invitation to a party. It's an<\/p>\n
invitation to a life to an eternity of<\/p>\n
unimaginable joy and peace in the<\/p>\n
presence of the one who can deliver that<\/p>\n
promise peace and joy. The covenant Lord<\/p>\n
of Israel, Yahweh, who we just sang<\/p>\n
about. I will sing of your covenant. We<\/p>\n
just did that. But like a coin, it has<\/p>\n
two sides, this invitation. So if you're<\/p>\n
looking at Psalm 95, you see verses 1<\/p>\n
through 7A. we'll use that language and<\/p>\n
then 7B flips the tone of the the whole<\/p>\n
psalm. So on one side is this exuberant<\/p>\n
joyful<\/p>\n
uh<\/p>\n
party. On the other side it's<\/p>\n
eternal. It's the eternal and horrible<\/p>\n
reality of missing out on this<\/p>\n
invitation on the presence of<\/p>\n
God on the rest and the peace that he<\/p>\n
provides for all who take refuge in him.<\/p>\n
And so as we dig into Psalm 95 today, I<\/p>\n
want to suggest to us that this psalm<\/p>\n
both invites and<\/p>\n
warns it invites us to worship and it<\/p>\n
warns us against the consequences of a<\/p>\n
heart that refuses to do so. So the<\/p>\n
psalmist helps us to understand who we<\/p>\n
are. I'm sorry, who we are to worship.<\/p>\n
So worship, who are we worshiping, why<\/p>\n
we're to worship that one, what this<\/p>\n
worship looks like, and also the scope<\/p>\n
of this worship or what is the extent of<\/p>\n
this call to worship for believers. And<\/p>\n
so we're going to divide this uh this<\/p>\n
psalm into three sections or into three<\/p>\n
uh yeah three sections. First of all,<\/p>\n
come to him for who he is. So that's<\/p>\n
answering the who question. Who do we<\/p>\n
worship? Second, come to him to<\/p>\n
worship. That means how do we worship?<\/p>\n
How do we approach this God? And then<\/p>\n
the third is come to him and stay with<\/p>\n
him. The scope of<\/p>\n
worship. So brothers and sisters, this<\/p>\n
Psalm 95, it's an invitation to a life<\/p>\n
of joyful worship and complete peace and<\/p>\n
rest in God. And it's fueled by God's<\/p>\n
majesty, his love, his<\/p>\n
greatness. But it's also a warning<\/p>\n
against hard unbelieving hearts that so<\/p>\n
easily easily become a a part of our<\/p>\n
lives. So let's uh let's read this<\/p>\n
passage and I'm going to read in English<\/p>\n
and then we'll pray.<\/p>\n
So, if you have your Bibles or if you<\/p>\n
can look at the screen, uh Psalm<\/p>\n
95, hear the word of the<\/p>\n
Lord. Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord.<\/p>\n
Let us make a joyful noise to the rock<\/p>\n
of our salvation. Let us come into his<\/p>\n
presence with thanksgiving. Let us make<\/p>\n
a joyful noise to him with songs of<\/p>\n
praise. For the Lord is a great God and<\/p>\n
a great king above all gods. In his hand<\/p>\n
are the depths of the earth. The heights<\/p>\n
of the mountains are his also. The sea<\/p>\n
is his, for he made it, and his hands<\/p>\n
formed the dry<\/p>\n
land. Oh, come, let us worship and bow<\/p>\n
down. Let us kneel before the Lord our<\/p>\n
maker. For he is our God, and we are the<\/p>\n
people of his pasture, the sheep of his<\/p>\n
hands.<\/p>\n
Today, if you hear his voice, do not<\/p>\n
harden your hearts as at Meabbah, as on<\/p>\n
the day at Massa in the wilderness, when<\/p>\n
your fathers put me to the test and put<\/p>\n
me to the proof, though they had seen my<\/p>\n
work. For 40 years I loathed that<\/p>\n
generation, and I said, \"They are a<\/p>\n
people who go astray in their heart, and<\/p>\n
they have not known my ways. Therefore,<\/p>\n
I swore in my wrath, they shall not<\/p>\n
enter my rest.\" Let's<\/p>\n
pray. Father,<\/p>\n
we come into your<\/p>\n
presence. We have been in your presence<\/p>\n
already. We thank you for this<\/p>\n
invitation. We thank you for the the<\/p>\n
chance to sit together under your word<\/p>\n
after we have made a joyful noise to the<\/p>\n
rock of our salvation. for the chance to<\/p>\n
hear your voice as we just read<\/p>\n
about. Let us take heed that today we<\/p>\n
hear that voice that we don't harden our<\/p>\n
hearts that we worship you, that we<\/p>\n
kneel, that we bow down to you,<\/p>\n
Father. Lord, we worship you, we praise<\/p>\n
you, and we ask you to receive honor<\/p>\n
from all that we do today in Christ's<\/p>\n
name. Amen.<\/p>\n
So, as I mentioned before, Psalm 95 is<\/p>\n
an invitation. So, it's it's God<\/p>\n
inviting us into worship. The Psalmist<\/p>\n
God through the psalmist inviting and<\/p>\n
then the So, twice in this passage,<\/p>\n
there's a call for God's people to come.<\/p>\n
And then the the psalmist proceeds to<\/p>\n
call us into worship with words like,<\/p>\n
\"Let us sing. Let us make a joyful<\/p>\n
noise. Let us worship. Let us bow down.<\/p>\n
Let us kneel.\" And we'll talk more about<\/p>\n
those let us uh phrases in a minute. But<\/p>\n
right now we want to look at the the who<\/p>\n
we worship the who of worship. So the<\/p>\n
psalmist is directing us to worship a<\/p>\n
certain<\/p>\n
person so that so that we are focused<\/p>\n
not on an event, not on a party so to<\/p>\n
speak, but we're focused on a<\/p>\n
person. So we're going to take a look at<\/p>\n
the person that we are called to worship<\/p>\n
in this passage which will also inform<\/p>\n
the how we worship and the why or the<\/p>\n
scope of worship later.<\/p>\n
So after, so this psalm was probably<\/p>\n
written after the Babylonian exile and<\/p>\n
and the Israelites are coming back from<\/p>\n
Babylon and they're trying to kind of<\/p>\n
pick up the pieces and and put their<\/p>\n
kingdom back together. And the psalmist<\/p>\n
is rallying them around the reality of a<\/p>\n
kingdom that cannot be shaken. And in<\/p>\n
this passage, he uses the phrase Yahweh<\/p>\n
or the Lord<\/p>\n
twice. And he's saying to God's people,<\/p>\n
\"This is your God. This is the covenant<\/p>\n
Lord of Israel, the one who led Abraham,<\/p>\n
Isaac, and Jacob. Come back to him. Come<\/p>\n
into his presence.\" And then he uses<\/p>\n
these phrases to talk about Yahweh or<\/p>\n
the Lord. He he says, \"This is the rock<\/p>\n
of our salvation.\" In verse two, the or<\/p>\n
sorry, the verse in verse one, the rock<\/p>\n
of our salvation. So when we say when we<\/p>\n
see the rock of salvation in scripture<\/p>\n
anywhere we see and it's it's in there a<\/p>\n
few times it means God is a secure place<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
refuge. No enemy no invading army can<\/p>\n
reach. Their salvation is safe in and<\/p>\n
with him. He is the fortress where they<\/p>\n
and we are kept safe and secure forever.<\/p>\n
And so God is this unassalable refuge<\/p>\n
for all who put their trust in him. So<\/p>\n
this is the first and in this call<\/p>\n
toward God is a who God is uh the rock<\/p>\n
of our salvation. The second says God is<\/p>\n
a great God and a great king above all<\/p>\n
gods.<\/p>\n
So I want us to realize that this does<\/p>\n
not mean that the psalmist that the<\/p>\n
person who's writing this is a<\/p>\n
polytheist. He doesn't believe in a lot<\/p>\n
gods. He's not saying that there are<\/p>\n
lots of gods and that um that uh god is<\/p>\n
the strongest one. So that you know<\/p>\n
maybe the the backdrop there is that<\/p>\n
maybe all these gods can get together<\/p>\n
and they can overpower the great king at<\/p>\n
some point. That's what happened in a<\/p>\n
lot of these nations. That's not what<\/p>\n
he's saying because he goes on to<\/p>\n
say he's above all gods. In his hand are<\/p>\n
the depths of the earth. The heights of<\/p>\n
the mountains are his also. The sea is<\/p>\n
his for for he made it and his hands<\/p>\n
form the dry land. So in those<\/p>\n
days all the other nations would have<\/p>\n
assigned like a kind of a jurisdiction<\/p>\n
to each god. So each god had their own<\/p>\n
place where they were<\/p>\n
powerful. And so certain gods and<\/p>\n
spirits in the minds of these pagan<\/p>\n
nations would have ruled over that<\/p>\n
mountain or this river or that desert or<\/p>\n
this tree or that temple or whatever<\/p>\n
this building. Does that sound familiar?<\/p>\n
And and that's what they believe that<\/p>\n
you had to make offerings and appease<\/p>\n
these different kind of gods in all<\/p>\n
these different places. What the<\/p>\n
psalmist is saying here, he's making a<\/p>\n
really pointed statement. He's saying<\/p>\n
that Yahweh is Lord over the depths and<\/p>\n
the heights, the seas, the mountains,<\/p>\n
the earth, it's all his. And he's<\/p>\n
leaving no place for the other gods of<\/p>\n
the nations. He's saying there is one<\/p>\n
God. There is one king. And these other<\/p>\n
gods are figments of imagination. They<\/p>\n
have no power over anything. This is the<\/p>\n
king. This is the great king above all<\/p>\n
gods. Don't miss this truth for your<\/p>\n
life. Don't miss this truth for our<\/p>\n
life. Remember when Jesus tells us, \"All<\/p>\n
authority in heaven and earth has been<\/p>\n
given to me.\" He's telling his scared<\/p>\n
disciples who are in the midst of this<\/p>\n
this this pagan Greek and Roman world.<\/p>\n
There's no other gods. All authority has<\/p>\n
been given to me. So preach, pray, give,<\/p>\n
live, act accordingly to that. Do you<\/p>\n
pray like Jesus has authority over your<\/p>\n
neighborhood, over this building, over<\/p>\n
your city? Pray like that. Jesus has<\/p>\n
authority<\/p>\n
here. And then so the psalmist is<\/p>\n
inviting us into the presence of the God<\/p>\n
of the universe, the only absolute<\/p>\n
sovereign there is. But then he moves on<\/p>\n
to focus in verses 6 and<\/p>\n
7 on the relationship that God has to<\/p>\n
Israel and to us, to all of God's<\/p>\n
people. He says, \"Oh come, let us<\/p>\n
worship and bow down. Let us kneel<\/p>\n
before the Lord our maker for he is our<\/p>\n
God and we are the people of his pasture<\/p>\n
and the sheep of his hand. So he makes<\/p>\n
the identity of the one that we worship<\/p>\n
not just God not just high not just<\/p>\n
transcendent but eminent really close<\/p>\n
really personal. So God is both our<\/p>\n
maker. He's the one to whom we owe<\/p>\n
everything, our allegiance, our being,<\/p>\n
our worship, but he's our<\/p>\n
shepherd. He's our shepherd. He's our<\/p>\n
He's our<\/p>\n
pastor. And this is an old This is a<\/p>\n
reworking a really old promise that we<\/p>\n
find in scriptures, the covenant<\/p>\n
promise. I will be your God and you will<\/p>\n
be my people. I will be your God and you<\/p>\n
will be my people. It tells us that<\/p>\n
we're not just the weward like creation<\/p>\n
of a sovereign God who just kind of let<\/p>\n
go in creation, but he takes a deep and<\/p>\n
active interest in your life and in my<\/p>\n
life. And he invites us into his<\/p>\n
presence to be with him, to worship<\/p>\n
him. So when I read this psalm, I I kind<\/p>\n
of I don't know when I read sometimes I<\/p>\n
get mental images. That's what reading<\/p>\n
is, right? uh that's unnecessary. But<\/p>\n
it's like the psalmist is taking us by<\/p>\n
the hand and he's pulling us into this<\/p>\n
room into this wild, loud, joyful,<\/p>\n
exuberant party and he's saying, \"Look,<\/p>\n
this is there. He is right there. He's<\/p>\n
the king. Worship him. Bow down.\"<\/p>\n
And I think when we see God like this,<\/p>\n
when we see God the way that the<\/p>\n
psalmist is is describing him, it drives<\/p>\n
us to worship. It draws us to want to<\/p>\n
worship. Next, come to him and worship.<\/p>\n
After we've seen who God<\/p>\n
is, let's take a look at our response to<\/p>\n
that greatness, to that majesty. So the<\/p>\n
psalmist, he kind of intertwines in<\/p>\n
these first seven verses the theme of<\/p>\n
who God is with a command to worship<\/p>\n
God. And he's he's told us who to<\/p>\n
worship. And now he's going to tell us<\/p>\n
how to worship. Now this isn't<\/p>\n
exhaustive. There's more to it than<\/p>\n
this, but it gives us a good starting<\/p>\n
point. So as I mentioned earlier in this<\/p>\n
this passage, there are two separate<\/p>\n
calls to come. It's calls to worship.<\/p>\n
come into worship just like we be we do<\/p>\n
at this at the beginning of every time<\/p>\n
we meet together like this we call each<\/p>\n
other we call each other to come into<\/p>\n
the presence of the great<\/p>\n
king and so these calls whether we do it<\/p>\n
here or whether we do it in the psalms<\/p>\n
or whether you hear it in the psalms<\/p>\n
it's it's um an invitation to enter into<\/p>\n
the presence of God himself to turn our<\/p>\n
hearts and minds and our attention away<\/p>\n
from the trivialities, the anxieties,<\/p>\n
from our own everchanging feelings, and<\/p>\n
to turn our<\/p>\n
hearts to the glory, the peace, and the<\/p>\n
permanence that we see and experience<\/p>\n
only in<\/p>\n
God. And so, after the psalmist calls us<\/p>\n
to come to enter God's presence, then he<\/p>\n
tells us what our worship should look<\/p>\n
like.<\/p>\n
And I think that we can see at least two<\/p>\n
areas in this passage where the psalmist<\/p>\n
is helping us to think about how to<\/p>\n
approach<\/p>\n
God. And the first area is in our<\/p>\n
posture. So God God confronts or he<\/p>\n
invites us to have a posture of worship.<\/p>\n
And then the second is he talks about<\/p>\n
the context for our worship. So first of<\/p>\n
all, let's think about the posture of<\/p>\n
our worship.<\/p>\n
And so we when we look back at these<\/p>\n
invitations to worship Yahweh, the the<\/p>\n
psalmist commands us to some some<\/p>\n
different attitudes. Um joy, make loud<\/p>\n
noises, um to be glad, to be thankful.<\/p>\n
Um which might sound a little bit<\/p>\n
strange to us sometimes because<\/p>\n
sometimes I think we think that emotions<\/p>\n
are spontaneous. We think that they<\/p>\n
are uncontrollable that we don't really<\/p>\n
have control over our emotions and we<\/p>\n
generally think of of of our feelings<\/p>\n
like this. Um but we all actually know<\/p>\n
that our attitudes um some attitudes or<\/p>\n
postures or emotions are to be expected<\/p>\n
in certain situations. So just the other<\/p>\n
day uh one of my kids uh was complaining<\/p>\n
that they didn't like something that I<\/p>\n
cooked them for dinner. All right. And I<\/p>\n
was thinking, I I bought this<\/p>\n
food. I came home after a long day of<\/p>\n
work and I cooked this food. And then in<\/p>\n
my mind, I was like, I brought you into<\/p>\n
this world. I can take you out. I didn't<\/p>\n
I didn't say that, but but I kind of<\/p>\n
felt that way, you know, like I I was I<\/p>\n
was pretty angry. And what I what I did<\/p>\n
say didn't help, but what I did say to<\/p>\n
this kid was, \"You should feel grateful<\/p>\n
for this.\" I didn't do the Africa thing.<\/p>\n
You know, there's starving kids in<\/p>\n
Africa. But I did say you should feel<\/p>\n
grateful for the food that you have on<\/p>\n
this table. This is good. Now, and I'm<\/p>\n
not going to tell you which child it<\/p>\n
was. You can guess um because it doesn't<\/p>\n
matter because they all do it. We all do<\/p>\n
it. Everybody's done it. We all know<\/p>\n
that. But we all know that certain<\/p>\n
realities should produce certain<\/p>\n
emotions. There should be gratitude in<\/p>\n
the face of gifts. There should be awe<\/p>\n
in the presence of majesty.<\/p>\n
The psalmist is telling us that when we<\/p>\n
come into the presence of the great<\/p>\n
king, the one who created the heavens<\/p>\n
and earth, the one who saves us so<\/p>\n
thoroughly that no army, nothing, not<\/p>\n
even life or death, not even our own<\/p>\n
waywardness can jeopardize our security<\/p>\n
in him, then our emotions should follow<\/p>\n
suit. Our emotions should follow those<\/p>\n
things should should respond<\/p>\n
appropriately. And that's what the<\/p>\n
psalmist is telling us to do. And so<\/p>\n
from these commands come then he says<\/p>\n
let us and then he commands our<\/p>\n
posture. He says our worship should be<\/p>\n
joyful. Um verses 1 and two we we we saw<\/p>\n
uh let me go back to read it real<\/p>\n
quick. Oh come let us sing to the Lord.<\/p>\n
of our salvation. Joy. I mean, the the<\/p>\n
the the tone of this whole psalm is joy.<\/p>\n
Well, for the first seven verses. So, I<\/p>\n
think it's clear that whatever you enjoy<\/p>\n
to some degree, you will worship that<\/p>\n
thing. You'll praise whatever you take<\/p>\n
joy in. You'll set aside time daily for<\/p>\n
whatever you truly enjoy. The psalmist<\/p>\n
is calling us to enjoy God.<\/p>\n
to be happy, full of joy about the love<\/p>\n
that God's poured out on us. So, he's<\/p>\n
urging us also to outwardly show that<\/p>\n
God is our greatest, deepest, and most<\/p>\n
lifegiving source of<\/p>\n
joy. At at Grace Fellowship down in<\/p>\n
Banga, uh we just had two Muslim<\/p>\n
families, two whole families come to<\/p>\n
Christ. Um, and it it just it's been<\/p>\n
beautiful to walk with them through this<\/p>\n
this situation and and and they're<\/p>\n
they're in a rough spot with refugee<\/p>\n
stuff, but this is what they said. Um,<\/p>\n
one one of the guys said, \"In Islam, we<\/p>\n
have reverence. We have fear. We have<\/p>\n
transcendence.\" He didn't say it in<\/p>\n
these words, but we don't have joy. We<\/p>\n
don't have nearness.<\/p>\n
Joyful worship is a command here because<\/p>\n
it is what God is doing to us. First,<\/p>\n
God is rejoicing over us. When God says,<\/p>\n
\"I will set my favor on you. I will save<\/p>\n
you.\" That means he rejoices over you<\/p>\n
with singing.<\/p>\n
He wants us to enjoy him because he<\/p>\n
enjoys us and because it points the rest<\/p>\n
of the world to him as<\/p>\n
well. Now that doesn't mean that we<\/p>\n
Presbyterians have to become<\/p>\n
charismatic. Joy can look like different<\/p>\n
things. It means though that we should<\/p>\n
long for Sunday. We should long for<\/p>\n
worship. We should long for this time.<\/p>\n
This is a time where we come together<\/p>\n
and shout and sing and well we don't<\/p>\n
shout here but we sing and we joyfully<\/p>\n
tell the world that this is our God. We<\/p>\n
point at him and say this is our<\/p>\n
God. It means that however we show<\/p>\n
emotion, it should be most obvious to<\/p>\n
all that the worship of God is our<\/p>\n
favorite thing. It's the most important<\/p>\n
thing in our lives. And it means men.<\/p>\n
All right, men. and I'm talking to you<\/p>\n
mostly here that we should sing. That we<\/p>\n
should make<\/p>\n
noise, that people around us should see<\/p>\n
and hear and feel our love for God. I<\/p>\n
mean, I know men I've known men all my<\/p>\n
life who will not let their kids see or<\/p>\n
anybody see or hear them sing<\/p>\n
praise, but they'll go to a high school<\/p>\n
basketball game and yell themselves<\/p>\n
horse.<\/p>\n
it. Express joy. However you express<\/p>\n
worship, let your worship of our king be<\/p>\n
joyful. Don't let anyone doubt whether<\/p>\n
you love God or basketball<\/p>\n
more. And secondly, our worship has to<\/p>\n
be<\/p>\n
reverent. So the psalmist also urges us<\/p>\n
to be reverent in our worship. So this<\/p>\n
isn't about a worship style or what<\/p>\n
instruments are used in our in our<\/p>\n
worship bands.<\/p>\n
Reverence in worship happens when we<\/p>\n
have a sense of our rightful place in<\/p>\n
worship. Which is to say we we we<\/p>\n
realize we are not the center of<\/p>\n
worship. This time isn't about us and<\/p>\n
for us but it's about glorifying God.<\/p>\n
At least when I was going through uh<\/p>\n
university several years ago, a lot of<\/p>\n
our music that we were writing in those<\/p>\n
times during that time was it was um it<\/p>\n
was focused on how I feel and what I do<\/p>\n
and how I respond and my heart and my<\/p>\n
commitment. It was I I I me me. It was<\/p>\n
very focused on the worshipper. And so<\/p>\n
many of the worship services that I<\/p>\n
attended in these gatherings and some<\/p>\n
sometimes I led as a guitar player and a<\/p>\n
worship<\/p>\n
leader, they were completely irreverent<\/p>\n
because they didn't focus on who God is<\/p>\n
at all. Now there is a place for talking<\/p>\n
about our commitment and our heart and<\/p>\n
but is our worship reverent? Does it<\/p>\n
point others to the majesty of<\/p>\n
God? The psalmist puts us in our place.<\/p>\n
Come, let us worship and bow down. Let<\/p>\n
us kneel before the Lord our<\/p>\n
maker. He puts God at the center of all<\/p>\n
things. He puts us in our place. True<\/p>\n
and reverent worship makes the praise<\/p>\n
and adoration of God<\/p>\n
ultimate. It makes our preferences and<\/p>\n
our styles<\/p>\n
secondary. So the posture of our worship<\/p>\n
then is joy and reverence. And then the<\/p>\n
context of our<\/p>\n
worship. We're not going to take too<\/p>\n
long of this. I think I suppose because<\/p>\n
we're all here, we kind of believe this<\/p>\n
at least. But some people think it's<\/p>\n
controversial. Some people don't like<\/p>\n
what I'm about to say maybe. But the<\/p>\n
psalmist is telling that the context of<\/p>\n
our worship is the church. And I don't<\/p>\n
mean the building. This building will be<\/p>\n
gone in 100 years. But the people of<\/p>\n
God, the people of God is the context of<\/p>\n
So in this passage he uses the phrase<\/p>\n
let us six times the focus is on our God<\/p>\n
our king our maker. So God calls a<\/p>\n
people not just a person to himself and<\/p>\n
he he addresses<\/p>\n
us as one people and he calls us into<\/p>\n
his presence together. Now I'm not<\/p>\n
saying that private worship is<\/p>\n
unnecessary. I'm a big believer in daily<\/p>\n
quiet times and regular intimate time<\/p>\n
with God. But most of the focus in the<\/p>\n
scripture is on this right<\/p>\n
here, the corporate worship, the<\/p>\n
corporate and regular worship of<\/p>\n
God. So simply put, you cannot sustain a<\/p>\n
heart of worship, a love for God, and a<\/p>\n
healthy<\/p>\n
faith if you do not make this time<\/p>\n
priority. because you and I aren't<\/p>\n
enough. We need each<\/p>\n
other. So last, let's come to him and<\/p>\n
stay with him. So let's look at the<\/p>\n
scope of worship. When we come to the<\/p>\n
end of verse 7 through the end of the<\/p>\n
psalm, it feels a bit disjointed from<\/p>\n
the other part of this of the chapter.<\/p>\n
Um again, the first seven verses are<\/p>\n
really boisterous and uh exuberant. The<\/p>\n
last part is not so much<\/p>\n
that, but that's kind of the point of<\/p>\n
verses 7b through 111. There's there is<\/p>\n
a chance of missing this<\/p>\n
party. There's a real danger on losing<\/p>\n
out on the opportunity to experience the<\/p>\n
joy of deep fellowship with God. So, the<\/p>\n
psalmist is giving us a stern warning,<\/p>\n
giving anyone a stern warning, uh, who<\/p>\n
would let their hearts grow cold and<\/p>\n
distant. So, let me reread that. Today,<\/p>\n
if you hear his voice, do not harden<\/p>\n
your hearts as at Meabbah, as on the day<\/p>\n
of Masa in the wilderness, when your<\/p>\n
fathers put me to the test and put me to<\/p>\n
the proof, though they had seen my work.<\/p>\n
For 40 years I loathe that generation,<\/p>\n
and I said, \"They are a people who go<\/p>\n
astray in their heart, and they have not<\/p>\n
known my ways. Therefore, I swore in my<\/p>\n
wrath, they shall not enter my rest.<\/p>\n
So at the time of the writing of this<\/p>\n
psalm, Israel again, they were returning<\/p>\n
from exile in Babylon. And here again<\/p>\n
was this, it was another chance to get<\/p>\n
it<\/p>\n
right. You know, God's calling them to<\/p>\n
set their hearts on the reality of his<\/p>\n
kingship. And as a background, the<\/p>\n
psalmist takes them to previous<\/p>\n
generations because they had the same<\/p>\n
cycle over and over. experience God's<\/p>\n
power, grow cold,<\/p>\n
fall, God rescues. That's the cycle over<\/p>\n
and over. And he brings up Meabbah from<\/p>\n
Numbers 20 and Masa from Exodus 17 where<\/p>\n
the people of<\/p>\n
God have been delivered out of Egypt and<\/p>\n
then they started to put God to the<\/p>\n
test. And he's given the people of<\/p>\n
Israel and us a<\/p>\n
warning. So what were they doing to put<\/p>\n
God to the test? Now, I'm going to read<\/p>\n
kind of a list of what happened here,<\/p>\n
but this is these are all things that I<\/p>\n
did yesterday. Like, these are all<\/p>\n
things that we pretty much do on a daily<\/p>\n
basis. Complaining about their<\/p>\n
circumstances, blatant and high-handed<\/p>\n
disobedience to God's commands, blaming<\/p>\n
God and the leaders that God appointed<\/p>\n
for their troubles, grumbling about what<\/p>\n
God provided, apathy.<\/p>\n
So as they got further and further away<\/p>\n
from Egypt, they begin to think less and<\/p>\n
less about God. And they begin to feel<\/p>\n
less grateful about what he did to save<\/p>\n
them. And they begin to think only about<\/p>\n
what they crave for lunch. And then<\/p>\n
they their desire for certain comforts<\/p>\n
and securities and and regularities that<\/p>\n
they had in bondage began to call them<\/p>\n
back.<\/p>\n
And what the psalmist calls this in<\/p>\n
verse 8 is a hardening of our of their<\/p>\n
heart or in verse 10 going astray in<\/p>\n
their hearts. They refused to find their<\/p>\n
rest and peace and satisfaction in God.<\/p>\n
And the writer of Hebrews actually uses<\/p>\n
this to preach a sermon to this New<\/p>\n
Testament church saying, \"Don't miss out<\/p>\n
on the rest that God<\/p>\n
provides. Don't like Israel miss out on<\/p>\n
the blessings of God. Don't let your<\/p>\n
hearts grow cold. Don't let unbelief and<\/p>\n
sin weigh you<\/p>\n
down.\" And it all came down to this is<\/p>\n
for us. I is your professed worship of<\/p>\n
God genuine? Do you really worship this<\/p>\n
God, the great king above all gods? Or<\/p>\n
are you just chasing a feeling or an<\/p>\n
experience? Are you refusing to rest in<\/p>\n
his provision and his love and in his<\/p>\n
plan for your life? Now, it's it's<\/p>\n
common to have a great experience, you<\/p>\n
know, kind of a mountaintop experience.<\/p>\n
You go to a camp or something, the<\/p>\n
worship is amazing. The lighting is<\/p>\n
really good. You it stirs your emotions.<\/p>\n
But both the psalmist and the writer of<\/p>\n
Hebrews 3, they issue a challenge to all<\/p>\n
of us because for some people that is as<\/p>\n
deep as their worship goes just an<\/p>\n
experience. First of all, he says<\/p>\n
today, today if you hear his voice, he's<\/p>\n
not talking about some mystical<\/p>\n
mysterious voice that's out<\/p>\n
there. He's talking about God's word,<\/p>\n
God's law. Because the context of<\/p>\n
Israel's return to the Lord is always<\/p>\n
based<\/p>\n
on a rediscovery of God's word, his<\/p>\n
laws. And this is true for you and I<\/p>\n
today. God isn't speaking secret<\/p>\n
messages or mystical messages through<\/p>\n
some guru. He's talking to us through<\/p>\n
his word every Sunday right here in this<\/p>\n
place. His voice. Do you listen to his<\/p>\n
voice? That's that's part of the<\/p>\n
warning. The second warning is today.<\/p>\n
You know, he says, you notice he says<\/p>\n
today, not tomorrow. You know, this<\/p>\n
isn't something to be put off. Our<\/p>\n
hearts are always either going warmer<\/p>\n
towards God or colder towards God,<\/p>\n
harder or softer towards God. It's not<\/p>\n
something that's static or stays the<\/p>\n
same. But the psalmist, he brings up<\/p>\n
this example at Maraban Masa because<\/p>\n
those are examples that are incredibly<\/p>\n
relevant to us. These are people who saw<\/p>\n
the great works of God and who still let<\/p>\n
their hearts grow cold. Let their hearts<\/p>\n
wander<\/p>\n
away. Their hearts little by little grew<\/p>\n
cold and unfeilling towards God. And<\/p>\n
this is a danger for you and I. So the<\/p>\n
warning is now today, right now, don't<\/p>\n
let sin deceive you.<\/p>\n
The writer of Hebrews says, \"See to it,<\/p>\n
brothers and sisters, that none of you<\/p>\n
has a sinful, unbelieving heart that<\/p>\n
turns away from the living God, but<\/p>\n
encourage one another daily as long as<\/p>\n
it is called today, so that none of you<\/p>\n
may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.<\/p>\n
We have come to share in Christ if<\/p>\n
indeed we hold our original conviction<\/p>\n
firmly to the<\/p>\n
end.\" So you see, God is actually<\/p>\n
teaching us about the scope of worship.<\/p>\n
In other words, what place does worship<\/p>\n
have in our lives? Is it something we do<\/p>\n
from time to time? Is it an experience<\/p>\n
that we've had or is it the pattern, the<\/p>\n
thing that directs our lives on a<\/p>\n
day-to-day basis? Are we engaging in<\/p>\n
worship? You know, I mentioned this is<\/p>\n
the context for<\/p>\n
worship. Breathing in and breathing out,<\/p>\n
private worship, public worship. This is<\/p>\n
how we meet God.<\/p>\n
This is what should direct and define<\/p>\n
our lives. God is showing us that true<\/p>\n
worship that honors him is worship that<\/p>\n
rejoices in him for a lifetime. It<\/p>\n
produces a life that is dedicated to<\/p>\n
give glory to God, to loving him, to<\/p>\n
loving his people, and to obeying his<\/p>\n
commands, to constantly turning from<\/p>\n
repenting of our sins, and to resting in<\/p>\n
his grace. Now, all<\/p>\n
right, this is hard. Do you feel the<\/p>\n
weight of verses 7B through the end of<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
psalm? I wish I didn't have to preach<\/p>\n
that part sometimes. You know, I I wish<\/p>\n
I could just preach the first part<\/p>\n
because it's much more fun. But the<\/p>\n
reality is our prone our hearts are<\/p>\n
really prone to what the psalmists say<\/p>\n
could not lead Israel to acknowledge<\/p>\n
that even the best of Israel's leaders<\/p>\n
and kings could not lead Israel through<\/p>\n
this kind of hardness. They couldn't<\/p>\n
bring the rest that God promised. They<\/p>\n
couldn't bring the rest that ever Israel<\/p>\n
craved. And Israel themselves couldn't<\/p>\n
keep their hearts from<\/p>\n
wandering. They too easily, too often<\/p>\n
wandered from God. And you and I can't<\/p>\n
do it. We can't keep our hearts from<\/p>\n
wandering.<\/p>\n
But what the writer of Hebrews, and this<\/p>\n
is this is where it's good to have the<\/p>\n
New Testament. The writer of Hebrews<\/p>\n
looks back at Psalm 95 and he points to<\/p>\n
Jesus and he says, \"Josu couldn't do it.<\/p>\n
Moses couldn't do it. Noah couldn't do<\/p>\n
it. David couldn't do it. Jesus did it.<\/p>\n
Jesus brought the rest that we all<\/p>\n
longed for. Jesus brought the rest that<\/p>\n
I promised.<\/p>\n
Jesus himself is the guarantee, the rock<\/p>\n
of our salvation. Jesus himself is our<\/p>\n
shepherd and we are the sheep of his<\/p>\n
hand. He is the good shepherd who lays<\/p>\n
down his life for the sheep of his<\/p>\n
pasture. He himself is our rest in him.<\/p>\n
The rest of God that was refused to the<\/p>\n
generation in Meabba and Masa has been<\/p>\n
made secure for anyone who takes refuge<\/p>\n
in him. So brothers and sisters, as the<\/p>\n
psalmist says,<\/p>\n
come know that God invites us, calls us<\/p>\n
to peace and rest. Come to him. Let us<\/p>\n
worship and bow down. Let us be diligent<\/p>\n
to enter that rest. But come to him and<\/p>\n
stay with him. Walk with him for a<\/p>\n
lifetime. Make your home in him. And<\/p>\n
because we believe that Jesus himself<\/p>\n
speaks to us through the<\/p>\n
Psalms, we can actually point to the<\/p>\n
words of Jesus that say that he has<\/p>\n
given us the same<\/p>\n
invitation. He says, \"Come to me all who<\/p>\n
labor and are heavy laden and I will<\/p>\n
give you the rest. I will lead you to<\/p>\n
that everlasting rest.\" Let's pray.<\/p>\n
Father, thank you that you are the<\/p>\n
God who not only invites us<\/p>\n
into<\/p>\n
worship, invites us into the eternal<\/p>\n
secure peace and rest, the party that we<\/p>\n
just read about in Psalm 95. But you<\/p>\n
also are the one who can keep us from<\/p>\n
wandering away. You're the one who<\/p>\n
bought that rest, who secured it for<\/p>\n
us. You're the one and you're the only<\/p>\n
one who keeps our hearts from growing<\/p>\n
hard. Lord, let us be diligent as the<\/p>\n
writer of Hebrews commands us. Let us be<\/p>\n
diligent to enter the rest that you have<\/p>\n
bought for us. We ask this in your name.<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20250522","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aJjYsoZTrgI","video_id":"aJjYsoZTrgI","video_duration":"35:55","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions\/200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}