for those of you I don't know my name is<\/p>\n
uh Jake Thomas I uh have the privilege<\/p>\n
of uh speaking to you this morning from<\/p>\n
the Psalms Martin Luther once had this<\/p>\n
to say about the Psalms uh the Salter<\/p>\n
should be precious to us if only because<\/p>\n
it most clearly promises the death and<\/p>\n
resurrection of Christ and describes his<\/p>\n
kingdom and the nature and standing of<\/p>\n
all Christian people it could well be<\/p>\n
entitled a little bible since everything<\/p>\n
contained in the entire Bible is<\/p>\n
beautifully and briefly comprehended and<\/p>\n
compacted into a<\/p>\n
manual he continued uh it seems to me as<\/p>\n
if the Holy Ghost has been pleased to<\/p>\n
take on himself the trouble of putting<\/p>\n
together a short bible touching on the<\/p>\n
whole of Christianity in order that they<\/p>\n
who are a unable to read the whole Bible<\/p>\n
May nevertheless find almost the entire<\/p>\n
Psalm comprehended in one little book<\/p>\n
The Salter is the very Paragon of books<\/p>\n
Luther said it is to the Psalms we come<\/p>\n
today and to Psalm number 87 specific<\/p>\n
specifically uh which really exemplifies<\/p>\n
this quote from Luther within this<\/p>\n
prophetic song we will find references<\/p>\n
to the very Cornerstone of our faith the<\/p>\n
intricacies of God's Redemptive<\/p>\n
plan uh the mystery of the Gospel the<\/p>\n
role of Christ Church and the future<\/p>\n
glorification of that church at the end<\/p>\n
of all things there's deep meaning in<\/p>\n
these short seven verses there's great<\/p>\n
theological truths that we can find here<\/p>\n
as we get a glimpse at Zion the city of<\/p>\n
our God uh you'll notice the psalm is<\/p>\n
broken up quite easily into three parts<\/p>\n
uh by the interjection saah uh this word<\/p>\n
is not meant to be read when we see it<\/p>\n
in the Psalms but instead it's uh to<\/p>\n
tell us to pause take a moment to um<\/p>\n
take a deep breath um meditate on what<\/p>\n
we've just read and what we will<\/p>\n
continue to read in the psalm so as I um<\/p>\n
read the psalm you'll notice that there<\/p>\n
and I'm not going to read it it's more<\/p>\n
of an instruction to us uh to meditate<\/p>\n
on God's word um with that in mind let's<\/p>\n
turn to today's text um if you have a<\/p>\n
Bible turn with me to Psalm 87 if not it<\/p>\n
will be on the<\/p>\n
screen on the holy Mount stands the city<\/p>\n
he<\/p>\n
founded the lord loves the gates of Zion<\/p>\n
more than all the Dwelling Places of<\/p>\n
Jacob glorious things of you are spoken<\/p>\n
oh city of<\/p>\n
God Among<\/p>\n
those<\/p>\n
okay among those who know me I mention<\/p>\n
Rahab and Babylon behold Felisa and Ty<\/p>\n
with Kush this one was born there they<\/p>\n
say and of Zion it shall be said this<\/p>\n
one and that one were born in her for<\/p>\n
the most high himself will establish<\/p>\n
her the Lord records as he registers the<\/p>\n
peoples<\/p>\n
this one was born<\/p>\n
there singers and dancers alike say all<\/p>\n
my Springs are in<\/p>\n
you when I was 13 years old I found out<\/p>\n
I needed<\/p>\n
glasses uh and it's it was kind of an<\/p>\n
unorthodox way to find out that I needed<\/p>\n
glasses um I was playing in the first<\/p>\n
game of a new baseball season um and<\/p>\n
it's important for context in the story<\/p>\n
to understand that like when you play<\/p>\n
Little League Baseball the field kind of<\/p>\n
gets bigger every year as you get older<\/p>\n
um and when you turn 13 you start<\/p>\n
playing on a field that's basically like<\/p>\n
normal sized um what like you play on<\/p>\n
for the rest of your life um and the<\/p>\n
difference between the field when you're<\/p>\n
12 and when you're 13 is really big it's<\/p>\n
it's really big and so um for those who<\/p>\n
are unfamiliar with the game of baseball<\/p>\n
I was playing in the Outfield um which<\/p>\n
was much farther from the hitter than I<\/p>\n
was used to being um and I was nervous<\/p>\n
it was the first game of the season but<\/p>\n
I was ready for the opportunity to make<\/p>\n
a play for my team um and I watched as<\/p>\n
the pitcher threw the ball and I heard<\/p>\n
the batter hit the ball but I had no<\/p>\n
idea where the ball was um and I somehow<\/p>\n
I knew the ball was coming in my<\/p>\n
direction all the other players on my<\/p>\n
team were looking to me and I Stood<\/p>\n
Still and looked up in the guy hoping to<\/p>\n
find the ball somewhere<\/p>\n
there and as I stood there<\/p>\n
helplessly searching the sky for the<\/p>\n
ball it landed about 10 feet behind me<\/p>\n
back that<\/p>\n
way um and I ran and I got it and I was<\/p>\n
embarrassed and I threw the ball back in<\/p>\n
and I was like wow that was really weird<\/p>\n
hope that doesn't happen again um the<\/p>\n
next inning it happened two more<\/p>\n
times um and at the end of that inning<\/p>\n
uh I got back to the DG the The Dugout<\/p>\n
after after the inning was over and uh<\/p>\n
my coach uh who happened to meet my dad<\/p>\n
um basically said you are killing us out<\/p>\n
there what is wrong with you what's<\/p>\n
going on and I told him I can't I can't<\/p>\n
see the ball and he said well you need<\/p>\n
to figure out a way to see the ball or<\/p>\n
you're going to be on the bench I rode<\/p>\n
the bench the rest of the game and long<\/p>\n
story short uh we went to the eye doctor<\/p>\n
the next day and I realized that I was<\/p>\n
really nearsighted I couldn't see<\/p>\n
anything that was far away from me I<\/p>\n
needed glasses um and my dad felt really<\/p>\n
bad about yelling at me about not being<\/p>\n
able to F uh see the ball but uh that's<\/p>\n
not the moral of the<\/p>\n
story<\/p>\n
um I still remember the first time that<\/p>\n
I put on glasses um I walked out of the<\/p>\n
eye doctor and the first thing I said to<\/p>\n
my mom was is this how everybody else<\/p>\n
sees all the time you know I could see<\/p>\n
the leaves on the trees for the first<\/p>\n
time I could see the shapes of the<\/p>\n
clouds in the sky for the first time and<\/p>\n
thankfully I could see the baseball when<\/p>\n
it was coming towards towards me um<\/p>\n
Psalm 87 is meant to be like eyeglasses<\/p>\n
for us you know we live in the world um<\/p>\n
corrupted by sin and truthfully<\/p>\n
everything is a little blurry because of<\/p>\n
that all of creation has been fuzzy to<\/p>\n
us for all of our lives and Psalm 87 is<\/p>\n
meant to be eyeglasses for us to let us<\/p>\n
see what creation can and will be in<\/p>\n
pure<\/p>\n
detail when we see this city of God<\/p>\n
described it should give us hope for a<\/p>\n
future we get a glimpse of go God has<\/p>\n
promised we get a glimpse of God's<\/p>\n
glorified<\/p>\n
Zion and we can start to see how the<\/p>\n
church itself can reflect that Glory<\/p>\n
even now in this short Psalm we learn<\/p>\n
what Zion is who the citizens of Zion<\/p>\n
are and how the citizens of Zion should<\/p>\n
behave it's broken down into three easy<\/p>\n
parts<\/p>\n
the foundations of Zion the citizens of<\/p>\n
Zion and the song of<\/p>\n
Zion the foundations of Zion the<\/p>\n
citizens of Zion and the song of<\/p>\n
Zion the main point is that God founded<\/p>\n
Zion to establish a place for his gospel<\/p>\n
to be proclaimed and for his name to be<\/p>\n
worshiped by people of every tribe<\/p>\n
nation and<\/p>\n
tongue verses 1 to 3<\/p>\n
discuss verses 1 to 3 discuss the found<\/p>\n
foundations of Zion in these verses we<\/p>\n
see God's Divine initiative in<\/p>\n
establishing Zion<\/p>\n
himself when we read poetry in any<\/p>\n
language the placement of words is<\/p>\n
significant it's important um and in the<\/p>\n
original text the first word of each of<\/p>\n
these first three verses is an action<\/p>\n
that God himself is doing uh in verse<\/p>\n
war is in verse one the first word um<\/p>\n
says that that God is founding Zion that<\/p>\n
he's establishing Zion himself and verse<\/p>\n
two the first word uh gives the<\/p>\n
implication uh that God God has chosen<\/p>\n
to love his chosen people he he has he<\/p>\n
loves his people and he has chosen to<\/p>\n
love them verse three um gives the<\/p>\n
implication that um the first word gives<\/p>\n
the implication that God<\/p>\n
exalts the place that he chooses to<\/p>\n
dwell above every other place and he<\/p>\n
does so by the Glorious things that are<\/p>\n
spoken about it by his people<\/p>\n
God is the one who gives Zion its<\/p>\n
significance and its<\/p>\n
Holiness so let's return to verse one it<\/p>\n
says on the Holy Mountain stands the<\/p>\n
city he founded in Hebrew this verse<\/p>\n
begins with the word uh his foundations<\/p>\n
or the the foundations that God has<\/p>\n
established and actually if they were if<\/p>\n
you were to directly translate it<\/p>\n
there's really no mention of a city it's<\/p>\n
just the foundations of God in the Holy<\/p>\n
mountains um now the mountains<\/p>\n
themselves there's not like a a holy<\/p>\n
mountain that exists on Earth that's<\/p>\n
holy because of it being a mountain it's<\/p>\n
holy because God has established himself<\/p>\n
there he chooses to dwell there and he<\/p>\n
has established the foundations there uh<\/p>\n
God himself founded Zion not the people<\/p>\n
of Israel or the church um in this verse<\/p>\n
it's it's talking about the city of<\/p>\n
Jerusalem which um God chose to be his<\/p>\n
dwelling place within this the nation of<\/p>\n
Israel um during the time that this<\/p>\n
Psalm was written uh now the people of<\/p>\n
Israel didn't even build the city of<\/p>\n
Jerusalem but God made it significant he<\/p>\n
made it his Zion when he chose to set up<\/p>\n
his Dwelling Place there his<\/p>\n
Temple God himself is the one who<\/p>\n
established and laid his foundations he<\/p>\n
has set it apart for his purpose his<\/p>\n
will and his worship uh found<\/p>\n
inspiration in this Psalm to pen another<\/p>\n
hymn titled glorious things of thee are<\/p>\n
spoken uh it's a beautiful hymn that<\/p>\n
understands that this Psalm has a lot to<\/p>\n
say about the relationship that uh God<\/p>\n
has with his church and the way that his<\/p>\n
church can exist in the world<\/p>\n
today in that hymn uh Newton writes this<\/p>\n
line uh on the Rock of Ages<\/p>\n
founded I love the connection that's<\/p>\n
Newton is making between um the<\/p>\n
foundations of Zion in this Psalm and<\/p>\n
the Cornerstone of the<\/p>\n
church Christ is that Cornerstone Isaiah<\/p>\n
28:16 which we read earlier here Builds<\/p>\n
on this idea it<\/p>\n
says it<\/p>\n
says therefore thus says the Lord God<\/p>\n
behold I am the one who has laid as a<\/p>\n
foundation in Zion a stone a tested<\/p>\n
Stone a precious Cornerstone of a sure<\/p>\n
Foundation whoever believes will not be<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
haste a tested Stone a precious<\/p>\n
Cornerstone in other words a living<\/p>\n
Stone rejected by men but in the sight<\/p>\n
of God Chosen and<\/p>\n
Precious on Christ the solid rock we<\/p>\n
stand all other ground is sinking sand<\/p>\n
as the old song<\/p>\n
goes Jesus is our foundation he is the<\/p>\n
stone that the builders rejected that<\/p>\n
has become the Cornerstone upon which<\/p>\n
the whole Church of God is<\/p>\n
built when he when the storms rage when<\/p>\n
the enemy surrounds it's on the<\/p>\n
foundation of Christ that we stand and<\/p>\n
we remain strong our foundations hold<\/p>\n
strong if we stand upon<\/p>\n
Christ in the book of Ephesians Paul<\/p>\n
discusses this truth and the sign<\/p>\n
significance it has for the church uh in<\/p>\n
verses 19 20 through 22 of chapter 2 um<\/p>\n
he says this so then you are no longer<\/p>\n
strangers and Aliens but you are fellow<\/p>\n
citizens with the Saints and members of<\/p>\n
the household of God built on the<\/p>\n
foundation of the Apostles and Prophets<\/p>\n
Christ Jesus himself being the<\/p>\n
Cornerstone in whom the whole structure<\/p>\n
being joined together grows into a holy<\/p>\n
Temple in the Lord in him you are also<\/p>\n
being built together into a dwelling<\/p>\n
place for God by the<\/p>\n
spirit the church itself not the<\/p>\n
physical building not this room that<\/p>\n
we're in right<\/p>\n
now but the body of<\/p>\n
Believers each of us in this room are<\/p>\n
being built into a holy Temple for the<\/p>\n
Lord we have become the spiritual<\/p>\n
embodiment of God's holy Zion<\/p>\n
his Dwelling Place his<\/p>\n
temple built on the foundation of his<\/p>\n
sacrifice the sacrifice of his son<\/p>\n
Jesus that sacrifice is the greatest<\/p>\n
example of God's love that we have um as<\/p>\n
we move to verse<\/p>\n
two we see this love<\/p>\n
described verse two reads the lord loves<\/p>\n
the gates of Zion more than all the<\/p>\n
Dwelling Places of<\/p>\n
Jacob the first word here is the is one<\/p>\n
of the Hebrew words for<\/p>\n
love uh but not just any love uh this<\/p>\n
love is God's elective love there is a<\/p>\n
sense of of election here there is a<\/p>\n
sense of God's Divine Choice here uh God<\/p>\n
has chosen to love Zion more than any of<\/p>\n
the other Dwelling Places of of Jacob um<\/p>\n
Zion Jerusalem was not the only place<\/p>\n
within the people of Israel that God was<\/p>\n
worshiped but God has chosen it to be<\/p>\n
his place of<\/p>\n
dwelling in his love in his elective<\/p>\n
love God shows his love for his people<\/p>\n
by choosing them by choosing them for<\/p>\n
himself it's a consequence of God's<\/p>\n
Divine initiative and Sovereign choice<\/p>\n
that the Glorious things of Zion are<\/p>\n
spoken uh it may be odd to read at first<\/p>\n
that God loves the gates of the city<\/p>\n
more than any other Dwelling Place of J<\/p>\n
Jacob uh not that not the temple um not<\/p>\n
a worship site uh but I think there's<\/p>\n
significance here when we see the term<\/p>\n
Gates uh what we should take from that<\/p>\n
is that what what we what the psalmist<\/p>\n
is saying is um that God loves the very<\/p>\n
heart and soul of the people of Israel<\/p>\n
uh the gates were more than just where<\/p>\n
people entered and exited the city um<\/p>\n
that was where uh the the elders talked<\/p>\n
about what the laws should be for the<\/p>\n
people it's where they uh heard<\/p>\n
petitions uh it's where the worship of<\/p>\n
God was outlined um it's where<\/p>\n
people gathered and talked about uh<\/p>\n
things and um where people sold and<\/p>\n
bought Goods is where they did everyday<\/p>\n
life the significance here is that God<\/p>\n
is choosing to love the very heart and<\/p>\n
soul of the people not some pedestal<\/p>\n
that's set us off to the side but where<\/p>\n
everyone comeing comes and goes where<\/p>\n
everyone does their everyday<\/p>\n
life he's dwelling with them in their<\/p>\n
midst he is not off some place different<\/p>\n
to be looked at far away he's dwelling<\/p>\n
within their<\/p>\n
midst when speaking about these verses<\/p>\n
Charles Spurgeon had this to this to say<\/p>\n
uh where God Reveals His love the most<\/p>\n
there should each believer most Delight<\/p>\n
to be<\/p>\n
found God Reveals His love most in<\/p>\n
choosing his<\/p>\n
church can you say that you Delight to<\/p>\n
be found in his<\/p>\n
church do you look forward to uh the<\/p>\n
Gathering of Believers every week<\/p>\n
or is it just something else that you<\/p>\n
know you have to check off your to-do<\/p>\n
list God has poured out his love and his<\/p>\n
Spirit on the church when we Embrace<\/p>\n
that spirit and experience that love<\/p>\n
there's no other place we would rather<\/p>\n
be when we truly understand the benefits<\/p>\n
of God's elective love it can change us<\/p>\n
completely uh verse three talks<\/p>\n
about how the city of God is exalted and<\/p>\n
glorified it reads glorious things of<\/p>\n
you are spoken oh city of<\/p>\n
God great honorable glorious things are<\/p>\n
spoken of the city of God because God is<\/p>\n
the one who exalted it uh the the use of<\/p>\n
the Hebrew word that's translated Spoken<\/p>\n
Here gives the idea that even though the<\/p>\n
people of Zion are the ones saying these<\/p>\n
glorious things that God is the one who<\/p>\n
gave them those words to say God is the<\/p>\n
one who exalts Zion<\/p>\n
himself God has Glory ious things to say<\/p>\n
about his Dwelling<\/p>\n
Place how do you speak about<\/p>\n
it how do you speak about the Lord's<\/p>\n
church do you focus on its shortcomings<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
failures now I know that the church has<\/p>\n
many failures throughout its long<\/p>\n
history uh I'm not trying to imply that<\/p>\n
the church doesn't have anything that it<\/p>\n
needs to repent for the truth is that<\/p>\n
the church is filled with people who are<\/p>\n
sinners and who fight an eternal battle<\/p>\n
daily between the Flesh and the spirit<\/p>\n
so people within the church are going to<\/p>\n
do wrong<\/p>\n
things but God still chooses to love his<\/p>\n
church that's the place he chooses to<\/p>\n
dwell not within the building God is not<\/p>\n
not dwelling in this building when we're<\/p>\n
when we're not<\/p>\n
here God chooses to dwell within the<\/p>\n
heart and soul of each and every<\/p>\n
believer<\/p>\n
the church is still the vehicle for the<\/p>\n
proclamation of God's<\/p>\n
gospel and the Hub of God's<\/p>\n
worship blemishes in<\/p>\n
all God Delights in his church he loves<\/p>\n
his church do<\/p>\n
you as we move to verse four we enter<\/p>\n
the second portion of this Psalm the<\/p>\n
citizens of<\/p>\n
Zion verse four reads among those who<\/p>\n
know me I mentioned Rahab and Babylon<\/p>\n
behold philistia and<\/p>\n
Ty with Kush this one was born there<\/p>\n
they<\/p>\n
say here we have a list of Nations but<\/p>\n
not just any Nations the Nations<\/p>\n
included here are all enemies of the<\/p>\n
people of Israel we begin with uh Rahab<\/p>\n
which we should associate with Egypt um<\/p>\n
the writer is using the term Rahab to to<\/p>\n
represent Egypt here<\/p>\n
um and Babylon the two greatest<\/p>\n
oppressors of the people of Israel<\/p>\n
throughout their history the Egyptians<\/p>\n
Enslaved the Israelites first<\/p>\n
Generations the Babylonians<\/p>\n
exiled the Israelites from their<\/p>\n
Homeland we continue with the<\/p>\n
Philistines the constant thorn in the<\/p>\n
side of the Israelites during their uh<\/p>\n
era of prominence the era of prosperity<\/p>\n
in the promised land the list continues<\/p>\n
with uh the people of Ty and Kush Kush<\/p>\n
was uh modern day Ethiopia these were<\/p>\n
two powerful city states uh in the of<\/p>\n
the Ancient World um the one to the<\/p>\n
north one to the south of Israel uh<\/p>\n
these nations were constantly trying to<\/p>\n
lure the Israelites away from worship of<\/p>\n
God with their worldliness and<\/p>\n
idolatry So In Sum we have enemies to<\/p>\n
the north south east and west and from<\/p>\n
within of Israel<\/p>\n
but this is not a Psalm where God is uh<\/p>\n
promising judgment on the enemies of<\/p>\n
Israel this is a Psalm where each of<\/p>\n
these nations is included in the<\/p>\n
Zion this is<\/p>\n
miraculous these Gentile Nations will<\/p>\n
become citizens of the people of<\/p>\n
God they will be able to enter the place<\/p>\n
where God chooses to<\/p>\n
dwell they will be able to become people<\/p>\n
of the<\/p>\n
Covenant Paul calls this the great<\/p>\n
mystery of the Gospel in Ephesians he<\/p>\n
says in Ephesians<\/p>\n
36 this mystery is that the Gentiles who<\/p>\n
are are fellow heirs members of the same<\/p>\n
body Jesus partakers of the promise in<\/p>\n
Christ Jesus Through The Gospel through<\/p>\n
the death of Jesus we are no longer<\/p>\n
strangers and Aliens as we read<\/p>\n
earlier but we are a chosen people a<\/p>\n
holy nation a people for God's Own<\/p>\n
desire a people of God's own<\/p>\n
choosing through Christ even though we<\/p>\n
are from different countries we have<\/p>\n
different skin colors we speak different<\/p>\n
languages we come from different<\/p>\n
religious<\/p>\n
backgrounds even though all of those<\/p>\n
things are true we are still building<\/p>\n
being built up together into the Temple<\/p>\n
of the one true<\/p>\n
God isn't that<\/p>\n
amazing each of us in this room should<\/p>\n
be particularly thankful ful uh for this<\/p>\n
mystery because we we should be included<\/p>\n
in this list of enemies of the people of<\/p>\n
Israel and the people of God we're all<\/p>\n
Gentiles but through the sacrifice of<\/p>\n
Jesus we can become co-s of the Covenant<\/p>\n
God has made with his chosen<\/p>\n
people God did not wait for us to be<\/p>\n
drawn to his holy city by the Glorious<\/p>\n
things that were said about it instead<\/p>\n
he came to us when we were still far<\/p>\n
away when we had rejected him when we<\/p>\n
had turned our backs on him when we ran<\/p>\n
away from<\/p>\n
him Romans 5 8-10 says but God shows his<\/p>\n
love for<\/p>\n
us and that while we were still sinners<\/p>\n
Christ died for us since therefore we<\/p>\n
have now been justified by his blood<\/p>\n
much more shall we be saved by him from<\/p>\n
the wrath of God for while we were<\/p>\n
enemies we were reconciled to God by the<\/p>\n
death of his son much more now that we<\/p>\n
are reconciled shall we be saved by his<\/p>\n
life God saved us even though we<\/p>\n
rejected<\/p>\n
him even though we walked<\/p>\n
away even though we were his<\/p>\n
enemies what a beautiful gift of Grace<\/p>\n
this<\/p>\n
is uh there are three main things that I<\/p>\n
think we can take away from this truth<\/p>\n
the first is that no one is disqualified<\/p>\n
from citiz citizenship in Zion this list<\/p>\n
of Nations includes the greatest<\/p>\n
oppressors and idolators of the ancient<\/p>\n
world<\/p>\n
yet to each of them God extends the gift<\/p>\n
of citizenship citizenship in<\/p>\n
Zion on the other hand aren't we so<\/p>\n
quick to<\/p>\n
judge we eliminate people all the time<\/p>\n
that we believe are too far gone to be<\/p>\n
saved we say to ourselves it isn't worth<\/p>\n
having that conversation because they're<\/p>\n
never going to turn back from their<\/p>\n
ways so often we group ourselves with<\/p>\n
the citizens of Zion and and we are part<\/p>\n
of the citizens of Zion but we forget<\/p>\n
that we were once enemies of<\/p>\n
God we were ones equal of equal standing<\/p>\n
with Babylon and Egypt and philistia and<\/p>\n
Ty and<\/p>\n
Kush do not be so quick to condemn<\/p>\n
others when you yourself deserve to be<\/p>\n
condemned if not for God's grace you too<\/p>\n
would stand<\/p>\n
condemned so understand this no one is<\/p>\n
beyond salvation<\/p>\n
no one is beyond<\/p>\n
Redemption no one is too far gone that<\/p>\n
they cannot receive<\/p>\n
Grace God's grace is sufficient for all<\/p>\n
Jesus blood is sufficient for all<\/p>\n
sin the second thing that we should see<\/p>\n
here as the basis for the citizenship in<\/p>\n
Zion uh it's listed three times once in<\/p>\n
each<\/p>\n
verse did you see it it's<\/p>\n
birth Now isn't that interesting how can<\/p>\n
birth<\/p>\n
be what includes Us in citizens of been<\/p>\n
Zion when all of these nations come from<\/p>\n
different places they're of different<\/p>\n
people<\/p>\n
groups I I am I have American<\/p>\n
citizenship there are lots of people in<\/p>\n
this room that don't have American<\/p>\n
citizenship you have citizenship in<\/p>\n
different countries and we all have<\/p>\n
different benefits because of those<\/p>\n
things because we've born in different<\/p>\n
places but here people from different<\/p>\n
places receive the same benefit even<\/p>\n
through birth<\/p>\n
so how can it be<\/p>\n
birth that seals our citizenship and the<\/p>\n
people of God we should be immediately<\/p>\n
reminded of the conversation that Jesus<\/p>\n
has with Nicodemus in John<\/p>\n
3 Nicodemus is a Pharisee he's a<\/p>\n
religious person he knows the the the<\/p>\n
Bible he has read it cover to cover he's<\/p>\n
memorized it he comes to Jesus<\/p>\n
questioning what little thing he needs<\/p>\n
to change so that he can be assured that<\/p>\n
he is included in the people of God and<\/p>\n
Jesus flips his world upside down Jesus<\/p>\n
tells him you don't need a small fix you<\/p>\n
need to be completely reborn you have to<\/p>\n
become a new person to be in to be in<\/p>\n
part of the people of<\/p>\n
God what does Jesus say he says unless<\/p>\n
one is born again he cannot see the<\/p>\n
kingdom of<\/p>\n
God Nicodemus is perplexed he thinks<\/p>\n
that Jesus is talking about a physical<\/p>\n
birth he's talking about he thinks he's<\/p>\n
talking about rein ing again into his<\/p>\n
mother's womb and being going through<\/p>\n
the process of birth again but that's<\/p>\n
not what Jesus is talking about Jesus is<\/p>\n
talking about the fact that we have to<\/p>\n
experience a spiritual rebirth we should<\/p>\n
become spiritually refreshed spiritually<\/p>\n
new to become a part of God's<\/p>\n
kingdom we must become new people the<\/p>\n
old must pass away and the spirit must<\/p>\n
take hold in your life and make you into<\/p>\n
a completely new<\/p>\n
creation now you may be sitting here<\/p>\n
today<\/p>\n
and you may know that you were far from<\/p>\n
God you may know that you're not<\/p>\n
following God you're not seeking him<\/p>\n
you've turned your back on him you may<\/p>\n
have run away from<\/p>\n
him you've heard this all before you've<\/p>\n
heard the gospel many times you know<\/p>\n
everything but you haven't been reborn<\/p>\n
see the thing about these two scenarios<\/p>\n
is they're not different both of the<\/p>\n
people in these scenarios have to<\/p>\n
experience rebirth they have to be<\/p>\n
reborn through the spirit to become new<\/p>\n
people verse six of our Psalm says the<\/p>\n
Lord registers as he records as he<\/p>\n
registers the people this one was born<\/p>\n
there you cannot receive the benefits of<\/p>\n
the citizenship in Zion unless God has<\/p>\n
written your name in The Book of Life in<\/p>\n
his record book is your name in that<\/p>\n
book of<\/p>\n
life have you been Reborn<\/p>\n
have you become a new<\/p>\n
creation the third and final takeaway we<\/p>\n
have from this section uh is our<\/p>\n
responsibility considering this truth<\/p>\n
the truth that people of Any Nation can<\/p>\n
become citizens in the citizens of<\/p>\n
Zion it's our missionary<\/p>\n
hope we know that the picture painted in<\/p>\n
Psalm 87 and echoed in Isaiah 2 and<\/p>\n
Revelation 4 is going to come back come<\/p>\n
to pass what began at Pentecost when the<\/p>\n
spirit was poured out on the apostles<\/p>\n
and they spoke in many tongues will come<\/p>\n
to fruition fruition at the end of all<\/p>\n
things there will come a day when people<\/p>\n
of every nation and tongue will worship<\/p>\n
Before the Throne of God<\/p>\n
together but how is that going to happen<\/p>\n
how is that going to come to<\/p>\n
pass Romans Romans 101 14-15 says<\/p>\n
this In this passage Paul is<\/p>\n
wondering how it's going to come how<\/p>\n
this is going to come to pass<\/p>\n
himself he says how then will they call<\/p>\n
on him in whom they have not believed<\/p>\n
and how are they to believe in him of<\/p>\n
whom they have never heard and how are<\/p>\n
they to hear without someone<\/p>\n
preaching and how are they to preach<\/p>\n
unless they are<\/p>\n
sent as it is written how beautiful are<\/p>\n
the feet of those who preach the good<\/p>\n
news it is our responsibility to take<\/p>\n
the gospel to those who have never heard<\/p>\n
it before<\/p>\n
Jesus told us to Go Make Disciples of<\/p>\n
all Nations he told us to be his<\/p>\n
Witnesses in Jerusalem Judea Samaria and<\/p>\n
to the ends of the<\/p>\n
Earth let me ask you would you consider<\/p>\n
yourself Jesus witness to the people in<\/p>\n
your<\/p>\n
life when was the last time you had a<\/p>\n
conversation about the gospel with<\/p>\n
someone when was the last time you<\/p>\n
invited someone to<\/p>\n
church how long has it been since you<\/p>\n
shared the good news<\/p>\n
news it is our greatest joy to share the<\/p>\n
good news with those who have never<\/p>\n
heard it<\/p>\n
before our hope is that we may see some<\/p>\n
of those people worshiping around the<\/p>\n
Throne of God With Us One<\/p>\n
Day the final section of our Psalm the<\/p>\n
song of Zion contains just one verse it<\/p>\n
says singers and dancers alike say all<\/p>\n
my Springs are in you it's a picture of<\/p>\n
Celebration it's a picture of<\/p>\n
Joy Paul says rejoice in the lord always<\/p>\n
again I say<\/p>\n
rejoice when we understand the gift of<\/p>\n
God's grace the beauty in our spiritual<\/p>\n
rebirth and the benefits of citiz<\/p>\n
citizenship in Zion our only response<\/p>\n
should be<\/p>\n
Joy When We Gather on a Sunday our<\/p>\n
attitude should be typified by<\/p>\n
joy we should not allow ourselves to be<\/p>\n
brought down by the the trials and<\/p>\n
tribulations we face in this world but<\/p>\n
when we gather together experience the<\/p>\n
joy of the gathered body of<\/p>\n
Believers even though we remain in this<\/p>\n
world we know we are not of this world<\/p>\n
we live now experiencing a foraste of<\/p>\n
future Glory the proverbial already but<\/p>\n
not yet find your joy and your hope in<\/p>\n
the promises of<\/p>\n
God the celebratory song in this verse<\/p>\n
is that all my Springs are in you<\/p>\n
this most likely means something to the<\/p>\n
effect of all my all the blessings of<\/p>\n
citizenship citizenship in Zion are in<\/p>\n
you but I think there's significance to<\/p>\n
the fact that that water is used to<\/p>\n
symbolize that I'm reminded of the<\/p>\n
conversation that Jesus had with a<\/p>\n
Samaritan woman at a well where he told<\/p>\n
her I can give you water that will never<\/p>\n
make you thirst<\/p>\n
again Jesus is that Living<\/p>\n
Water Jesus will take away your thirst<\/p>\n
he is the source of all of our blessings<\/p>\n
of all the promises of<\/p>\n
God the celebration we see in this verse<\/p>\n
is a picture of the one that is to come<\/p>\n
Revelation 19<\/p>\n
6-9 talks about that beautiful Feast<\/p>\n
that is to come at the marriage supper<\/p>\n
Lamb one day the citizens citizens of<\/p>\n
Zion will be fully United with the<\/p>\n
founder of Zion and we will sing the<\/p>\n
song of Zion together<\/p>\n
the New Jerusalem the New Zion will be a<\/p>\n
place where God truly dwells with his<\/p>\n
people Revelation<\/p>\n
21 describes the city having the glory<\/p>\n
of God its Radiance like a most rare<\/p>\n
Jewel verses 23- 27 say and I saw no<\/p>\n
temple in the city for its Temple is the<\/p>\n
Lord God the almighty and the lamb and<\/p>\n
the city has no need of sun or moon to<\/p>\n
shine on it for the glory of God gives<\/p>\n
it light and its lamp is the Lamb by its<\/p>\n
light will the Nations walk and the<\/p>\n
kings of the earth will bring their<\/p>\n
Glory into it and its Gates will never<\/p>\n
be shut by day and there will be no<\/p>\n
night there they will bring into it the<\/p>\n
glory and honor of the Nations but<\/p>\n
nothing unclean will ever enter it nor<\/p>\n
anyone who does what is detestable or<\/p>\n
false but only those who are written in<\/p>\n
the Lamb's Book of<\/p>\n
Life God himself will dwell in this new<\/p>\n
Zion he will be the place of<\/p>\n
worship he will be its light and its<\/p>\n
lamp and in it a river filled with the<\/p>\n
Water of Life will<\/p>\n
run what a beautiful picture for the<\/p>\n
future citizens of<\/p>\n
Zion those whose names are written in<\/p>\n
the book of<\/p>\n
life so as we sit here today remember<\/p>\n
that<\/p>\n
God the one who founded and established<\/p>\n
Zion has given us the opportunity<\/p>\n
through his elective love to become<\/p>\n
citizens of Zion even though we rejected<\/p>\n
him and as we gather as his church each<\/p>\n
week we get a foretaste of the glory<\/p>\n
that is to<\/p>\n
come we get to sing the song of Zion<\/p>\n
together in his church we get a get a<\/p>\n
glimpse of what awaits us as chosen<\/p>\n
Zion one day we will feast in the house<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
Zion one day we will sing with our<\/p>\n
hearts<\/p>\n
restored we will glorify ify his name<\/p>\n
together and we will feast and weep no<\/p>\n
more<\/p>\n
amen let's<\/p>\n
pray father God we all we praise you as<\/p>\n
the almighty founder of<\/p>\n
Zion we thank you for choosing to love<\/p>\n
us we thank you for sending your son to<\/p>\n
be a holy and perfect sacrifice for us<\/p>\n
even though we were your enemies<\/p>\n
we praise you for in your sovereignty<\/p>\n
you made your son the foundation on<\/p>\n
which your church is built we thank you<\/p>\n
for giving us the opportunity to become<\/p>\n
citizens of your kingdom for giving us<\/p>\n
the benefits of that<\/p>\n
citizenship Lord let our lives reflect<\/p>\n
the joy in your song every day let us<\/p>\n
ref reflect the beauty of your holy city<\/p>\n
When We Gather each Sunday father we<\/p>\n
love you in Jesus name we pray amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20240823","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7gf0_q68F-Y","video_id":"7gf0_q68F-Y","video_duration":"34:27","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376","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=376"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376\/revisions\/377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}