Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Psalm 81

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Psalm 81 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

• 0:00
  Our text for this morning's Bible study, as Daryl mentioned in his prayer, is Psalm 81.
• 0:04
  So if you'll turn in your Bibles to Psalm 81.
• 0:08
  While you're getting there, let me talk to you just a little bit about our plans for our Sunday Bible study
• 0:14
  and then when we can meet back together, our Sunday sermons across this next year.
• 0:19
  Just in case you didn't see my little video that I posted on Slack this past week.
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  We are, just yesterday we started in the Bible reading plan that many of us are participating in
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  and some of us are not, and that's okay.
• 0:34
  This is not an obligation. This is the way to read the Bible.
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  It's just a way, and it's a good way to read the Bible.
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  But yesterday we started into the New Testament readings in the book of Matthew,
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  and then there's a reading from a psalm every day, and yesterday's psalm was Psalm 81.
• 0:50
  Today it's Psalm 82, and so forth.
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  So if you're interested in doing that with us, we'd encourage you to do so.
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  To do that, you can go to the Read Scripture app.
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  You can download that onto your device.
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  Set the start date for August 27th, and this is really important, 2019.
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  It's going to really be confusing if you set it for 2020.
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  So August 27th, 2019, and that'll show you where you ought to be each day in your Bible reading.
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  And beyond that, I'm going to post it every day to Slack, the Bible reading moving forward.
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  And when we can meet again, it'll be on the screen and on your bulletin, etc.
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  And what we're going to do is we're going to teach from a text from that previous week's reading.
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  So we're going to be going all throughout the Scripture, teaching, working to tie it together for you,
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  to kind of present a biblical theology, tracing the main theme of Scripture,
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  which is God's redemptive work for His glory and the good of His people.
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  So we're going to be picking selected texts across that time,
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  which means we'll be working fairly progressively through the Bible.
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  But from time to time, we'll step off to a psalm from the daily reading,
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  which is what we're going to be doing today.
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  And then parents, I'm working on right now.
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  I'm not, it's taking me a lot of time, as you might imagine,
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  but selecting a couple of verses from each day's reading that you can read with your children.
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  So I think I've done between two and four verses per day.
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  So if you're doing the Bible reading, and then you're sitting down with your children
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  and doing that briefer Bible reading, hopefully you'll be able to help them,
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  give them some context, press them along in their understanding of the Bible as well.
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  If I can get my act together, I'll get that to you this afternoon.
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  If not, by tomorrow, I'll have that to you, at least for the Gospels.
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  That's where I'm at so far.
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  So you can start doing that with your children.
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  And then on Monday, so starting tomorrow morning at 6.30,
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  I'm going to host a Zoom meeting before our Devotion Plus Prayer meeting, 6.30 a.m.
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  And I'm simply going to say a quick prayer, read the text for the day,
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  say a closing prayer of kind of application, what's coming to my mind as I'm reading.
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  So if you'd like to join us for that, just pay attention, keep tuned in.
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  I'll talk a little bit more about the details for that later on.
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  So that's the hope.
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  So we've spent a lot of time as a church drilling into books.
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  So we've just finished the book of Hebrews.
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  A lot of people who come and are part of our church come for just a number of years
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  while they're in school or they're living in Dahlonega for a brief period of time.
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  And it's a wonderful thing that we get to really,
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  really get into the depths of a book together.
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  But we thought it'd be nice to kind of step away, get a higher view,
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  even as we come into particular texts as we walk through the Bible together.
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  So we'll still be doing expositions.
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  We just won't be verse by versing it through a single book of the Bible.
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  But so that said, today's text is Psalm 81.
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  And I'll begin reading in verse one.
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  Sing aloud to God our strength.
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  Shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
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  Raise a song.
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  Sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
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  Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon on our feast day.
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  For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob.
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  He made a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt.
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  I hear a language I had not known.
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  I relieved your shoulder of the burden.
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  Your hands were freed from the basket.
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  In distress you called and I delivered you.
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  I answered you in the secret place of thunder.
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  I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
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  Hear, O my people, while I admonish you.
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  O Israel, if you would but listen to me.
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  There shall be no strange God among you.
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  You shall not bow down to a foreign God.
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  I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
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  Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
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  But my people did not listen to my voice.
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  Israel would not submit to me.
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  So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own counsels.
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  O that my people would listen to me.
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  That Israel would walk in my ways.
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  I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.
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  Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him and their fate would last forever.
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  But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat and with honey from the rock.
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  I would satisfy you.
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  So in order to set our minds moving in the right direction as we study the psalm, I'd like to begin by reading you a bit from an article on Psalm 81 that I found on Ligonier's website by a man named W. Robert Godfrey.
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  And I just think this helps kind of set the stage for this particular psalm.
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  So I try to listen carefully here as I give this a quick read.
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  What does the church most need today?
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  In answering this important but rather general question, Psalm 81 is uniquely important and helpful.
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  This psalm obviously contains beautiful promises and clear directions to help the people of God.
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  But careful study of this psalm will deepen our appreciation of it, increase its value for us, and show us how distinctive it is for helping the church.
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  As we study psalms, we soon learn that the central verse of a psalm is often significant as a key to its interpretation.
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  The central line of Psalm 81 is the heart of that psalm as the plaintive cry of God is heard,
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  O Israel, if you would but listen to me.
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  And this is the last half of verse 8.
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  Perhaps this line will resonate more profoundly with the readers of this article if we translate it,
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  O Israel, if you would but hear me.
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  The center of Psalm 81, indeed the whole psalm, is a reflection on the Shema.
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  And the Shema is from Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 through 9.
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  And so I'm just going to read that to you real quick before going back to the article.
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  And it says this,
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  Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
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  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
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  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
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  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
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  and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
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  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
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  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house, and on your gates.
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  Again, Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4.
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  Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
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  So back to the article.
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  The centrality of this line and its importance are underscored when we recognize that Psalm 81
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  is the central psalm of Book 3 of Psalter.
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  Book 3, Psalms 73 through 89, principally concerns the crisis in Israel caused by the destruction of the temple
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  and the apparent failure of God's promises that David's sons would forever sit on the throne.
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  Something of the cause and character of this crisis is contained in this central line of the central psalm.
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  Since Book 3 is the central book of the five books of the Psalter,
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  Psalm 81 and verse 8 actually is the central line of the whole book of Psalms.
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  It stands at the very heart of Israel's songbook.
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  It calls Israel to deep reflection on her relationship to her God.
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  This psalm also appears to be central to Israel's liturgical calendar.
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  The praise at new moon and full moon can refer only to the seventh month of the year,
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  the Feast of Trumpets in Leviticus 23-24, which happened every year.
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  We know this as Rosh Hashanah, it's the harvest festival of Israel,
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  and the Feast of Tabernacles, which is every seven years.
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  Between these two feasts occurred the Day of Atonement.
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  As God called Israel to celebrate his great provisions as creator and deliverer,
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  so he called his people to hear him.
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  As the Shema was crucial to the Torah,
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  so it is central to the Psalter and the Christian life.
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  God's people must hear his word,
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  particularly to reject false gods and to walk in his ways.
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  They must not follow their own wisdom.
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  How sad to contemplate that God might give us what we think is good for us.
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  So that sets the stage for what I want to point out today in the text,
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  and that is that Psalm 81 contains within it three calls or summons.
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  First, in verses 1-5, there's a call to rejoice.
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  Second, verses 6-10, a call to remember.
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  And third, in verses 11-16, a call to repentance.
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  Let's look first at a call to rejoice, excuse me, verses 1-5.
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  So a call to rejoice, or quite literally, a call to worship.
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  This opening of this psalm was a specific call to worship,
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  and it was used for, we know, historically, for the Feast of Tabernacles.
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  For this festival, the Israelites would make temporary shelters
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  and would live in them for seven days as a reminder of their time in the wilderness
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  and God's faithful provision for them there.
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  This was to be a celebration of God's goodness,
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  and it was to be full of joy, right?
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  This is a call to rejoice.
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  Listen again to the first three verses.
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  So Israel was called to worship their God with gladness of heart.
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  They were to shout for joy, raise a song, and play instruments,
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  the tambourine, the lyre, the harp, and the trumpet.
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  They were to worship their God with the wholeness of their being.
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  The psalmist is calling us to the very same thing,
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  to not just work through the motions of our worship,
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  but to worship God in our waking and in our going about
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  or in this strange time in our staying in
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  and to worship God in our lying down.
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  Every moment in all of our actions and all of our thoughts
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  and all of our emotions,
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  we are to give ourselves to the worship of our God.
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  Worship is not just narrowed down to special planned times,
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  although it is that, but it is so much more.
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  We're meant to live lives of worship for our God.
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  We are to worship with all that we have for all that he is.
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  Listen to what our God said to the Israelites through the prophet Isaiah,
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  and this is Isaiah chapter 1, beginning in verse 11.
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  What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices, says the Lord?
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  I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts.
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  I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of goats.
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  When you come to appear before me,
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  who has required of you this trampling of my courts?
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  Bring no more vain offerings.
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  Incense is an abomination to me.
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  New moon, note the new moon there,
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  and Sabbath and the calling of convocations,
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  I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
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  Your new moons again and appointed feasts,
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  my soul hates.
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  They have become a burden to me.
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  I am weary of bearing them.
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  When you spread out your hands,
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  I will hide my eyes from you.
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  Even though you make many prayers,
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  I will not listen.
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  Your hands are full of blood.
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  The Israelites were worshiping God by his prescribed means.
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  These were the things that God had commanded that they would do,
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  but not with their whole selves.
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  They were going through the motions.
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  Verse 13 and then verse 15 shows us this.
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  I cannot endure iniquity,
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  and your hands are full of blood.
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  They were going through the motions of worshiping God,
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  but they were guilty of egregious sin,
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  and as such were not worshiping with their whole being.
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  God continues in Isaiah 1 to be instructive,
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  and this should be helpful to us.
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  In verse 16 and 17,
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  he says,
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  wash yourselves,
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  make yourselves clean,
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  remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes,
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  cease to do evil,
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  learn to do good,
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  seek justice,
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  correct oppression,
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  bring justice to the fatherless,
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  plead the widow's cause.
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  means for lives to be given to him in worship.
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  Beloved,
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  it is altogether possible to worship the right God,
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  but to worship him wrongly,
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  in an unacceptable manner.
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  J.I. Packer,
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  in his most wonderful work,
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  which I strongly commend to you this morning,
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  some of you may have some time to do some reading right now,
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  called Knowing God,
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  posits the following two points.
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  Listen carefully.
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  One can know a great deal about God
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  without much knowledge of him.
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  He makes this distinction between knowing about God
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  and actually knowing God,
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  being in relationship with God,
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  understanding his heart and his concern for his people.
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  And secondly,
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  one can know a great deal about godliness
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  without much knowledge of God.
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  So we can know the rules,
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  we can go through the motions
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  without much relationship with our Lord God.
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  I believe that we can all be guilty of this
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  from time to time, right?
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  Having sound doctrine
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  that doesn't lead to sound practice.
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  We can believe the right things,
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  but we can hold them wrongly
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  that doesn't lead to holy living.
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  of merely reading the Bible or some good book,
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  of listening to good teaching,
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  of singing gospel songs,
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  of gathering all sorts of data about God
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  without knowing him.
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  Packer goes on in his work
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  to give some helpful thoughts
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  on evidences of knowing God,
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  wherein he employs the following four points.
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  And I just want you to think about these things
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  for a moment as I read them.
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  How well could you say,
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  yes,
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  that is true of me,
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  of someone who gives evidence
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  of knowing God,
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  being in relationship with him?
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  Number one,
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  those who know God
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  have a great energy for God.
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  Number two,
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  those who know God
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  have great thoughts of God.
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  Number three,
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  those who know God
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  show great boldness for God.
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  And number four,
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  those who know God
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  have great contentment in God.
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  So you can see what he is saying,
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  right,
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  is it encapsulates all of us,
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  right,
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  all of us given to the worship
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  of our God.
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  Verses one through five of Psalm 81
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  are a call to rejoice
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  in the God of our salvation.
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  And I just wonder,
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  on this day,
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  will you heed this call to rejoice?
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  Secondly,
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  we see in verses six through ten,
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  a call to remember.
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  First,
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  a call to remember
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  what God had done.
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  Verses six and seven.
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  First,
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  we see in verse six
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  and the first part
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  of verse seven,
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  I relieved your shoulder
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  of the burden.
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  Your hands were freed
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  from the basket.
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  In distress,
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  you called
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  and I delivered you.
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  They were to remember
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  that God had delivered them
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  from their bondage
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  in Egypt.
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  We can read in Exodus chapter two,
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  verse 23 and following.
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  During those many days,
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  the king of Egypt died
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  and the people of Israel
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  groaned because of their slavery
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  and cried out for help.
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  Their cry for rescue
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  from slavery came up to God
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  and God heard their groaning
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  and God remembered his covenant
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  with Abraham,
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  with Isaac,
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  and with Jacob.
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  God saw the people of Israel
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  and God knew.
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  the Exodus
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  from Egypt
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  was a foreshadowing
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  of the deliverance
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  of God's people
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  from sin
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  and death.
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  We look back
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  to the Exodus
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  and should remember
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  the greater deliverance
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  that we have
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  in Christ.
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  We are meant
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  to remember
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  the Exodus
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  and so Psalm 81
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  speaks to us as well
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  although we understand it
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  more fully.
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  Paul wrote in Romans chapter six,
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  verse six and seven,
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  we know that our old self
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  was crucified with him
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  in order that the body of sin
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  might be brought to nothing
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  so that we would no longer
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  be enslaved to sin
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  for one who has died
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  has been set free from sin.
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  So we're meant
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  to remember what God has done
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  and the highest thing
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  of most important order
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  is that God has set us free
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  from the bondage of sin.
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  Second, we see in the rest
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  of verse seven
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  that they were to remember
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  that God had relationship
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  with them.
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  God says,
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  I answered you
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  in the secret place
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  of thunder.
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  This phrase most likely refers
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  to God meeting with Moses
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  and therefore his people
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  on Mount Sinai.
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  God listened
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  and he spoke
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  and he spoke
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  so that he would be known,
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  trusted,
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  and obeyed.
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  In the same way,
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  God has spoken to us,
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  not only on a mountain
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  in the secret place
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  of thunder,
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  but in these last days
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  he has spoken to us
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  by his son,
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  Hebrews chapter one
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  and verse two.
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  And we can read
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  of all God's working
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  on behalf of his people
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  by his son
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  in the totality
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  of the scripture.
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  Last part of verse seven
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  says,
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  I tested you
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  at the waters
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  of Meribah.
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  Here God is most definitely
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  referring to the episode
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  recorded at the beginning
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  of Exodus 17
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  where the people
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  quarreled against Moses
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  and God showed himself
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  faithful
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  by providing water
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  from a stone.
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  And although God
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  showed himself faithful
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  at Meribah
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  and many other times,
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  many of the Israelites
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  did not trust him
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  and were punished
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  for their faithlessness.
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  In the same way,
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  God has shown himself
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  faithful in provision
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  to us
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  and tests
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  our faithfulness.
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  We have
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  much of God's
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  kindness toward us,
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  much of God's
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  provision toward us.
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  He has relationship
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  with us
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  and because he has that,
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  he asks of us
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  faithfulness.
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  This is why Paul
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  instructs us
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  in first Corinthians
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  chapter 10
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  verse one
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  and following.
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  For I do not want you
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  to be unaware,
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  brothers,
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  that our fathers
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  were all under the cloud
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  and all passed
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  through the sea
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  and all were baptized
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  into Moses in the cloud
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  and in the sea
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  and all ate the same
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  spiritual food
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  and all drank the same
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  spiritual drink
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  for they drank
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  from the spiritual rock
• 20:45
  that followed them
• 20:46
  and the rock
• 20:47
  was Christ.
• 20:49
  This is their
• 20:49
  wilderness
• 20:50
  traveling,
• 20:52
  right?
• 20:52
  And this was meant
• 20:53
  to teach us
• 20:54
  something.
• 20:55
  Verse five,
• 20:56
  nevertheless,
• 20:57
  with most of them,
• 20:58
  God was not pleased
• 20:59
  for they were overthrown
• 21:01
  in the wilderness.
• 21:02
  Now these things
• 21:05
  took place
• 21:06
  as examples
• 21:07
  for us
• 21:08
  that we might
• 21:09
  not desire evil
• 21:11
  as they did.
• 21:13
  So we are supposed
• 21:15
  to remember
• 21:16
  what God
• 21:17
  has done
• 21:19
  and be found
• 21:20
  faithful.
• 21:21
  Secondly,
• 21:22
  we're called
• 21:22
  to remember
• 21:23
  who God
• 21:24
  is.
• 21:26
  And here we find
• 21:27
  verse eight.
• 21:29
  Hear,
• 21:29
  O my people,
• 21:30
  while I admonish you,
• 21:31
  strongly warn you,
• 21:34
  O Israel,
• 21:35
  if you would
• 21:36
  but listen
• 21:37
  to me.
• 21:39
  And I hope
• 21:39
  here and before
• 21:40
  you've seen
• 21:41
  the connection
• 21:41
  to the Shema
• 21:43
  found in Deuteronomy
• 21:44
  chapter six.
• 21:46
  Verse nine
• 21:47
  then says,
• 21:48
  there should be
• 21:48
  no strange God
• 21:49
  among you.
• 21:50
  You shall not bow down
• 21:51
  to a foreign God.
• 21:53
  I am the Lord
• 21:54
  your God
• 21:54
  who brought you
• 21:55
  up out of the land
• 21:55
  of Egypt.
• 21:56
  Open your mouth
• 21:57
  wide
• 21:58
  and I will fill it.
• 21:59
  the whole
• 22:01
  of the law
• 22:02
  of God
• 22:02
  was read
• 22:03
  at the Feast
• 22:04
  of Tabernacles
• 22:04
  every seven
• 22:06
  years.
• 22:07
  So more
• 22:08
  than just
• 22:08
  the Decalogue,
• 22:09
  the Ten Commandments,
• 22:09
  the whole law
• 22:10
  would have been
• 22:11
  read.
• 22:12
  But here in
• 22:12
  verses nine
• 22:13
  and ten,
• 22:14
  we see the
• 22:15
  preface
• 22:15
  of the Ten
• 22:16
  Commandments
• 22:17
  and the first
• 22:18
  two commandments
• 22:19
  in summary.
• 22:21
  First,
• 22:21
  we see the
• 22:21
  first two
• 22:22
  commandments
• 22:22
  summarized
• 22:23
  in verse nine.
• 22:25
  Commandments
• 22:26
  for the proper
• 22:27
  worship
• 22:28
  of the
• 22:29
  proper
• 22:29
  God.
• 22:31
  These are
• 22:31
  found originally
• 22:32
  in Exodus
• 22:32
  chapter 20
• 22:33
  verses
• 22:33
  three
• 22:35
  through six.
• 22:36
  And there
• 22:37
  is so much
• 22:38
  to unpack
• 22:38
  out of these
• 22:39
  two verses.
• 22:41
  Now remember,
• 22:41
  this would have
• 22:42
  been a call
• 22:43
  to worship.
• 22:44
  Psalm 81
• 22:44
  would have been
• 22:45
  read at this
• 22:46
  particular feast,
• 22:47
  but also
• 22:48
  the rest
• 22:48
  of the law
• 22:49
  would have
• 22:50
  been read.
• 22:52
  And so
• 22:52
  when we think
• 22:53
  of these
• 22:53
  two commandments,
• 22:55
  we often think,
• 22:56
  well,
• 22:57
  I have never
• 22:57
  carved a
• 22:58
  wooden idol
• 22:59
  and bowed
• 22:59
  down to it,
• 23:01
  but it means
• 23:01
  so very much
• 23:02
  more than that.
• 23:04
  And the
• 23:05
  Westminster
• 23:05
  Larger Catechism
• 23:06
  is helpful
• 23:06
  to us in this
• 23:07
  way.
• 23:07
  They did a
• 23:08
  very careful
• 23:09
  work to
• 23:10
  summarize all
• 23:11
  of the
• 23:11
  scripture's
• 23:12
  teaching that
• 23:13
  feeds into
• 23:14
  and out of
• 23:15
  these commandments.
• 23:17
  So I'm just
• 23:18
  going to read
• 23:18
  some of it
• 23:19
  to you until
• 23:19
  I feel like
• 23:20
  I've read
• 23:20
  too much
• 23:21
  and then
• 23:21
  I'll stop
• 23:22
  to give you
• 23:23
  some idea
• 23:24
  of what the
• 23:24
  scripture says
• 23:25
  about these
• 23:27
  commandments.
• 23:28
  This particularly
• 23:29
  about the
• 23:30
  first commandment.
• 23:31
  Question 104,
• 23:33
  what are the
• 23:33
  duties required
• 23:34
  in the first
• 23:35
  commandment?
• 23:36
  And the
• 23:36
  answer,
• 23:37
  the duties
• 23:38
  required in
• 23:38
  the first
• 23:39
  commandment
• 23:39
  are the
• 23:40
  knowing and
• 23:40
  acknowledging
• 23:41
  of God
• 23:42
  to be the
• 23:42
  only true
• 23:43
  God and
• 23:43
  our God
• 23:44
  and to
• 23:45
  worship and
• 23:46
  glorify him
• 23:47
  accordingly
• 23:47
  by thinking,
• 23:49
  meditating,
• 23:49
  remembering,
• 23:50
  highly esteeming,
• 23:52
  honoring,
• 23:52
  adoring,
• 23:54
  choosing,
• 23:55
  loving,
• 23:56
  desiring,
• 23:57
  fearing of
• 23:58
  him,
• 23:58
  believing him,
• 24:00
  trusting,
• 24:01
  hoping,
• 24:02
  delighting,
• 24:03
  rejoicing in
• 24:04
  him,
• 24:04
  being zealous
• 24:05
  for him,
• 24:06
  calling upon
• 24:07
  him,
• 24:08
  giving all
• 24:09
  praises and
• 24:10
  thanks,
• 24:10
  and yielding
• 24:11
  all obedience
• 24:12
  and submission
• 24:12
  to him with
• 24:13
  the whole man,
• 24:15
  being careful
• 24:15
  in all things
• 24:16
  to please him
• 24:17
  and sorrowful
• 24:18
  when in
• 24:18
  anything he
• 24:19
  is offended
• 24:20
  and walking
• 24:21
  humbly
• 24:22
  with him.
• 24:23
  This is the
• 24:24
  summary of
• 24:24
  what the
• 24:24
  scripture
• 24:25
  teaches about
• 24:26
  what it
• 24:26
  means to
• 24:27
  obey,
• 24:28
  but then
• 24:29
  question 105,
• 24:31
  what are the
• 24:31
  sins forbidden
• 24:32
  in the first
• 24:33
  commandment?
• 24:34
  Here's where I'll
• 24:35
  stop short
• 24:35
  because it goes
• 24:36
  on and on.
• 24:37
  The answer,
• 24:38
  the sins forbidden
• 24:39
  in the first
• 24:39
  commandment are
• 24:40
  atheism,
• 24:42
  in denying or
• 24:42
  not having a
• 24:43
  God,
• 24:44
  idolatry,
• 24:45
  in having or
• 24:45
  worshiping more
• 24:46
  gods than
• 24:46
  one,
• 24:47
  or any with
• 24:48
  or instead
• 24:49
  of the true
• 24:49
  God,
• 24:50
  the not
• 24:51
  having and
• 24:52
  avouching him
• 24:53
  for God
• 24:53
  and our
• 24:54
  God,
• 24:55
  the omission
• 24:55
  or neglect
• 24:56
  of anything
• 24:57
  due to him
• 24:58
  required in
• 24:59
  this commandment,
• 25:00
  ignorance,
• 25:00
  forgetfulness,
• 25:02
  misapprehensions,
• 25:03
  false opinions,
• 25:05
  unworthy and
• 25:06
  wicked thoughts
• 25:06
  of him,
• 25:07
  bold and
• 25:08
  curious,
• 25:08
  searching into
• 25:09
  his secrets,
• 25:10
  all profaneness,
• 25:12
  hatred of God,
• 25:13
  self-love,
• 25:14
  self-seeking,
• 25:16
  and all other
• 25:17
  inordinate and
• 25:18
  immoderate setting
• 25:19
  our mind,
• 25:20
  will,
• 25:20
  affections upon
• 25:21
  other things
• 25:22
  and taking them
• 25:23
  off from him
• 25:24
  in whole or
• 25:25
  in part,
• 25:26
  vain credulity,
• 25:27
  unbelief,
• 25:28
  heresy,
• 25:29
  misbelief,
• 25:30
  distrust,
• 25:31
  despair,
• 25:32
  incorrigibleness,
• 25:33
  and insensibleness
• 25:35
  under judgment,
• 25:36
  hardness of heart,
• 25:38
  pride,
• 25:39
  presumption,
• 25:40
  and it goes on
• 25:40
  for about another
• 25:41
  paragraph,
• 25:42
  listing off
• 25:43
  those things
• 25:44
  forbidden
• 25:45
  in that very
• 25:46
  first commandment.
• 25:48
  The reason I read
• 25:50
  all of that,
• 25:50
  you think,
• 25:51
  why in the world,
• 25:52
  right,
• 25:53
  is that I think
• 25:54
  we find all of us
• 25:55
  breaking
• 25:56
  this command,
• 25:58
  just the very
• 25:59
  first one
• 26:00
  about how we
• 26:01
  think,
• 26:02
  and therefore
• 26:02
  how we act
• 26:03
  toward our God.
• 26:06
  Secondly,
• 26:07
  we see the
• 26:08
  preface found
• 26:09
  in Exodus
• 26:09
  chapter 20
• 26:10
  and verse 2
• 26:12
  with a small
• 26:13
  but very
• 26:14
  significant
• 26:14
  addition,
• 26:16
  and this is in
• 26:17
  verse 10
• 26:17
  of Psalm 81.
• 26:19
  I am the Lord
• 26:20
  your God
• 26:21
  who brought you
• 26:22
  up out of the
• 26:22
  land of Egypt.
• 26:24
  This is found
• 26:25
  at the beginning
• 26:25
  of Exodus
• 26:26
  chapter 20
• 26:27
  and verse 2.
• 26:28
  But then Psalm 81
• 26:30
  says,
• 26:31
  open your mouth
• 26:32
  wide
• 26:33
  and I
• 26:34
  will fill it.
• 26:37
  John Calvin
• 26:37
  speaks to this
• 26:38
  in his commentary
• 26:39
  on Psalm 81.
• 26:41
  He writes,
• 26:41
  he not only
• 26:42
  bids them
• 26:43
  open their mouth,
• 26:44
  but he magnifies
• 26:45
  the abundance
• 26:46
  of his grace
• 26:47
  still more
• 26:49
  highly
• 26:49
  by intimating
• 26:51
  that however
• 26:52
  enlarged
• 26:53
  our desires
• 26:53
  may be,
• 26:55
  there will be
• 26:55
  nothing wanting
• 26:56
  which is necessary
• 26:58
  to afford us
• 26:59
  full
• 27:00
  satisfaction.
• 27:02
  So,
• 27:03
  our God,
• 27:04
  this God
• 27:05
  that we are being
• 27:06
  called to listen
• 27:07
  to and to
• 27:08
  know,
• 27:09
  says to us,
• 27:10
  open your mouth
• 27:11
  wide and I will
• 27:12
  give you
• 27:13
  full
• 27:13
  satisfaction.
• 27:15
  Now,
• 27:15
  if we have a good
• 27:16
  and proper view
• 27:17
  of the scripture,
• 27:18
  we'll understand
• 27:18
  that we'll have
• 27:19
  full satisfaction
• 27:20
  in him.
• 27:23
  So,
• 27:24
  I wonder
• 27:24
  on this day
• 27:25
  if you will heed
• 27:26
  this call
• 27:27
  to remember
• 27:28
  and to be
• 27:30
  satisfied.
• 27:32
  Lastly,
• 27:33
  in verses 11
• 27:34
  through 16,
• 27:35
  we see a call
• 27:36
  to repentance.
• 27:39
  First,
• 27:40
  we see a description
• 27:41
  of their sin
• 27:42
  in verse 11.
• 27:44
  But my people
• 27:45
  did not listen
• 27:46
  to my voice.
• 27:48
  Israel would not
• 27:49
  submit
• 27:50
  to me.
• 27:52
  Beloved,
• 27:53
  we are
• 27:53
  often guilty
• 27:54
  of the same.
• 27:56
  We have
• 27:57
  an abundance
• 27:58
  of access
• 27:59
  to our God
• 28:00
  by his holy word
• 28:01
  and yet we
• 28:02
  often do not
• 28:03
  even take it up
• 28:04
  and read it.
• 28:06
  And when we do,
• 28:08
  we often
• 28:08
  do not heed
• 28:09
  its warnings
• 28:10
  or follow
• 28:11
  its commands.
• 28:13
  We seem
• 28:14
  so very
• 28:15
  rolled to sleep
• 28:17
  by the reality
• 28:19
  we have
• 28:21
  a God
• 28:22
  who has
• 28:22
  spoken
• 28:23
  to us
• 28:24
  and we
• 28:25
  have it
• 28:25
  everywhere
• 28:26
  and I
• 28:26
  just think
• 28:27
  we take
• 28:27
  it for granted
• 28:27
  rather than
• 28:29
  recognizing
• 28:29
  this is a
• 28:30
  precious
• 28:31
  word
• 28:32
  from a
• 28:33
  God
• 28:33
  who loves
• 28:34
  us,
• 28:34
  who seeks
• 28:35
  our good,
• 28:36
  who wants
• 28:37
  us to
• 28:37
  understand
• 28:37
  who he
• 28:38
  is
• 28:39
  and how
• 28:39
  he's
• 28:39
  acted
• 28:40
  toward us
• 28:41
  in Christ
• 28:42
  so that
• 28:42
  our lives
• 28:43
  would be
• 28:43
  changed
• 28:44
  by that
• 28:45
  both for
• 28:45
  us,
• 28:46
  for our
• 28:46
  good,
• 28:47
  our deep
• 28:48
  joy and
• 28:49
  satisfaction,
• 28:50
  our peace
• 28:50
  in him
• 28:51
  but also
• 28:52
  for his
• 28:53
  glory,
• 28:54
  that others
• 28:54
  would see
• 28:55
  that we
• 28:56
  have a
• 28:56
  God
• 28:57
  worthy
• 28:57
  of worship
• 28:59
  and I
• 29:00
  wonder if
• 29:00
  part of
• 29:01
  the problem
• 29:01
  of our
• 29:01
  day,
• 29:02
  why we
• 29:02
  don't see
• 29:02
  more people
• 29:03
  coming to
• 29:04
  faith in
• 29:04
  Christ,
• 29:05
  is that
• 29:05
  they just
• 29:05
  don't see
• 29:06
  any need
• 29:06
  for it
• 29:07
  because they
• 29:07
  don't see
• 29:08
  us having
• 29:08
  any hope
• 29:09
  that is
• 29:10
  greater than
• 29:10
  theirs
• 29:11
  and beloved
• 29:12
  this should
• 29:12
  just not
• 29:13
  be so
• 29:14
  right,
• 29:15
  we should
• 29:15
  be a
• 29:16
  people who
• 29:16
  are never
• 29:17
  guilty of
• 29:18
  this
• 29:18
  but I
• 29:19
  think very
• 29:20
  often we
• 29:21
  are.
• 29:22
  Remember
• 29:22
  verse 8,
• 29:24
  hear oh
• 29:24
  my people
• 29:25
  while I
• 29:27
  admonish
• 29:27
  you,
• 29:28
  I strongly
• 29:29
  warn you,
• 29:30
  oh Israel,
• 29:31
  if you
• 29:32
  would but
• 29:33
  listen to
• 29:34
  me.
• 29:36
  And then
• 29:36
  we see
• 29:37
  the verdict.
• 29:40
  Beloved,
• 29:40
  we should
• 29:40
  absolutely
• 29:41
  shudder when
• 29:42
  we read
• 29:42
  these words
• 29:43
  and we
• 29:44
  should want
• 29:44
  with every
• 29:46
  bit of
• 29:46
  our energy
• 29:47
  to avoid
• 29:48
  this
• 29:49
  consequence
• 29:49
  found in
• 29:50
  verse 12.
• 29:53
  So I
• 29:53
  gave them
• 29:54
  over to
• 29:55
  their stubborn
• 29:56
  hearts to
• 29:57
  follow their
• 29:58
  own
• 29:59
  counsels.
• 30:02
  For God
• 30:03
  to say,
• 30:04
  find them,
• 30:06
  go your
• 30:07
  own way,
• 30:08
  is the
• 30:09
  most horrible
• 30:10
  of punishments.
• 30:12
  If you
• 30:12
  understand
• 30:13
  anything about
• 30:14
  yourself,
• 30:14
  you'll know
• 30:15
  that your
• 30:16
  way is
• 30:16
  the worst
• 30:17
  way.
• 30:19
  My way
• 30:19
  is the
• 30:20
  worst
• 30:21
  way.
• 30:22
  Many of
• 30:23
  us live
• 30:24
  as though
• 30:24
  this is
• 30:25
  not the
• 30:25
  case.
• 30:26
  We think
• 30:27
  our way
• 30:27
  is the
• 30:27
  best way
• 30:28
  rather than
• 30:30
  God's
• 30:31
  way.
• 30:32
  God,
• 30:33
  in his
• 30:33
  loving kindness
• 30:34
  for you,
• 30:35
  will say,
• 30:36
  find them,
• 30:37
  go your
• 30:37
  own way
• 30:38
  in order
• 30:39
  to teach
• 30:39
  you the
• 30:40
  error of
• 30:41
  your way.
• 30:42
  He'll say,
• 30:42
  yeah,
• 30:42
  follow that
• 30:43
  path and
• 30:44
  just see
• 30:44
  where it
• 30:44
  takes you.
• 30:47
  When you
• 30:47
  find this
• 30:48
  to be
• 30:48
  true of
• 30:48
  you,
• 30:49
  the call
• 30:50
  of Psalm
• 30:50
  81 is
• 30:51
  to repent
• 30:52
  because
• 30:54
  God is
• 30:55
  eager to
• 30:57
  forgive.
• 30:58
  He's
• 30:58
  standing at
• 30:59
  the end
• 30:59
  of that
• 30:59
  road that
• 31:00
  you want
• 31:00
  to go
• 31:00
  down,
• 31:01
  that you
• 31:01
  think is
• 31:01
  the right
• 31:02
  way,
• 31:02
  and he
• 31:03
  is so
• 31:03
  very
• 31:04
  willing to
• 31:05
  forgive,
• 31:05
  to put
• 31:06
  you back
• 31:06
  on the
• 31:07
  proper
• 31:08
  path.
• 31:10
  Listen to
• 31:10
  verse 13
• 31:11
  and 14,
• 31:12
  God
• 31:26
  longs to
• 31:28
  forgive the
• 31:29
  repentant
• 31:30
  sinner.
• 31:31
  I am
• 31:32
  reminded
• 31:32
  here of
• 31:34
  Jesus'
• 31:34
  words concerning
• 31:35
  Jerusalem in
• 31:36
  Matthew chapter
• 31:36
  23 and
• 31:37
  verse 37,
• 31:39
  where he
• 31:40
  said,
• 31:40
  Oh,
• 31:41
  Jerusalem,
• 31:41
  Jerusalem,
• 31:42
  the city that
• 31:43
  kills the
• 31:44
  prophets and
• 31:44
  stones those
• 31:45
  who are sent
• 31:46
  to it,
• 31:46
  how often
• 31:48
  would I have
• 31:48
  gathered your
• 31:49
  children together
• 31:50
  as a hen
• 31:51
  gathers her
• 31:51
  brood under
• 31:53
  her wings,
• 31:54
  and you
• 31:55
  were not
• 31:56
  willing.
• 31:59
  Notice the
• 32:00
  heart of
• 32:00
  Jesus there.
• 32:01
  He wants to
• 32:02
  gather them,
• 32:02
  but they're
• 32:03
  unwilling to
• 32:04
  be gathered.
• 32:06
  You may be
• 32:06
  thinking this
• 32:07
  morning,
• 32:08
  if I repent,
• 32:09
  can I really
• 32:10
  expect God
• 32:11
  to forgive me?
• 32:12
  Even me,
• 32:13
  considering all
• 32:14
  that I have
• 32:15
  done?
• 32:16
  And the
• 32:17
  answer is
• 32:18
  an unequivocable
• 32:19
  yes.
• 32:21
  It's yes.
• 32:23
  God is
• 32:23
  abounding in
• 32:24
  mercy,
• 32:25
  and he's
• 32:25
  ready to
• 32:27
  grant it.
• 32:28
  We should
• 32:28
  listen to his
• 32:29
  word and what
• 32:29
  his word has
• 32:30
  to say about
• 32:31
  repentance,
• 32:32
  right?
• 32:32
  Note the
• 32:33
  warnings of
• 32:34
  God,
• 32:35
  but moreover,
• 32:37
  note his
• 32:38
  great kindness
• 32:40
  towards those
• 32:41
  who will
• 32:41
  repent.
• 32:43
  Turn and
• 32:44
  repent.
• 32:45
  This is
• 32:46
  available to
• 32:46
  all of us
• 32:47
  this morning,
• 32:48
  but we
• 32:50
  must
• 32:50
  repent.
• 32:52
  Verse 15
• 32:53
  shows us
• 32:55
  this,
• 32:55
  that those
• 32:56
  who hate
• 32:57
  the Lord
• 32:57
  would cringe
• 32:59
  toward him
• 33:00
  and their
• 33:00
  fate
• 33:01
  would last
• 33:03
  forever.
• 33:05
  Don't be
• 33:06
  those people.
• 33:08
  Be a person
• 33:09
  who recognizes
• 33:10
  that you've
• 33:11
  not heeded
• 33:12
  the word of
• 33:12
  God.
• 33:13
  Repent of
• 33:14
  that,
• 33:14
  that he
• 33:15
  would forgive
• 33:15
  you,
• 33:16
  draw you
• 33:17
  back into
• 33:18
  his way.
• 33:20
  This is the
• 33:20
  most wonderful
• 33:21
  way in which
• 33:22
  we can go.
• 33:24
  And so I
• 33:24
  wonder on
• 33:26
  this day
• 33:27
  if you
• 33:27
  will heed
• 33:28
  this call
• 33:28
  to repent.
• 33:30
  We've been
• 33:30
  given three
• 33:31
  calls,
• 33:32
  a call to
• 33:32
  rejoice,
• 33:33
  a call to
• 33:34
  remember,
• 33:35
  and a call
• 33:36
  to repent.
• 33:38
  And so I
• 33:39
  want to close
• 33:39
  with verse
• 33:40
  16,
• 33:41
  and I just
• 33:42
  want you to
• 33:42
  notice the
• 33:43
  abundance
• 33:44
  of the
• 33:45
  blessing,
• 33:46
  not just a
• 33:48
  blessing,
• 33:48
  but an
• 33:49
  abundant
• 33:49
  blessing
• 33:50
  from an
• 33:51
  abundantly
• 33:52
  loving,
• 33:53
  gracious,
• 33:54
  merciful God.
• 33:56
  but he
• 33:57
  would feed
• 33:58
  you with
• 33:58
  the finest
• 33:59
  of the
• 34:00
  wheat,
• 34:00
  and with
• 34:01
  honey from
• 34:02
  the rock,
• 34:03
  I would
• 34:04
  satisfy you.
• 34:06
  Will you
• 34:06
  be satisfied
• 34:08
  in God
• 34:09
  this morning?