Latest / CCC West Covina / The Perpetuity of Praise, Part 1

Transcript

The Perpetuity of Praise, Part 1 · CCC West Covina

0:00
The Christmas season comes very rapidly.
0:04
It leaves just as quickly. It comes and it goes.
0:10
And involved in the Christmas season is our time to celebrate
0:14
the birth of the Christ child, to focus in on the celebration
0:19
of the season. And the question comes, is that
0:23
celebration that we engage in, is it genuine or is it
0:30
superficial? Is it a real celebration or is
0:36
it a figment of our imagination? Celebration.
0:42
The celebration of Christmas doesn't end on the 25th of
0:46
December. In fact, the celebration of
0:49
Christmas is to be a perpetual celebration, a continual
0:56
celebration and ongoing celebration all throughout our
1:01
lives, not just during the season.
1:06
But so many of us have a seasonal celebration instead of
1:11
a perpetual celebration. So the question comes, is my
1:18
celebration of the Christmas season 1 that's genuine or
1:24
superficial? So let me ask you a couple of
1:27
questions. If you are more concerned about
1:32
your Christmas tree then Calvary's tree, your celebration
1:39
is a superficial celebration. If you're more concerned about
1:45
the lights on your house instead of the lights in your heart, you
1:54
have a very superficial, shallow celebration.
2:01
If you're more concerned about what Santa will bring instead of
2:07
the savior you are to believe, you have a very superficial
2:14
celebration. In fact, if your celebration is
2:18
about me and my satisfaction instead of the Master in His
2:24
glorification, then you have a superficial celebration not just
2:31
of the season, but all throughout your life.
2:37
If you're more excited about the the gifts you receive more so
2:43
than the God you are to Revere, your celebration is a
2:48
superficial celebration. In other words, what happens in
2:55
the Christmas season is indicative of what happens
2:59
throughout the rest of my life, because there is to be a a
3:04
celebration, a a praise, a a gratefulness, a a Thanksgiving
3:11
to God. That's not season seasonal, but
3:15
perpetual. In fact, in the aftermath of the
3:20
advent or in following the festivities of the season, you
3:26
should be going more with the story than less with the story.
3:33
You should be growing more in intimacy than growing less in
3:38
intimacy. You should be giving more to the
3:42
ministry, not less to the ministry.
3:46
You should be guarding your testimony more than less.
3:54
You should be guiding your family more than before.
4:01
You should be glorifying God's majesty more than before.
4:11
You see, so many times we we look at a celebration of the
4:16
season as something that's passing instead of something
4:21
that's enduring. And so I want to talk to you
4:25
this morning and next week about the perpetuity of praise.
4:31
That is why praise is to be continual, why it's to be
4:36
perpetual in your life. When you talk about perpetuity,
4:42
you're talking about a state or the quality of something that's
4:47
enduring. We talk about the perpetuity of
4:50
praise because praise is that which happens all throughout
4:54
eternity. The four living creatures, night
4:57
and day, from all eternity past till eternity into the future,
5:04
say the same thing over and over again.
5:11
And so because they are repeating the majestic nature of
5:17
their God, they are overwhelmed with him.
5:21
They're involved in the the perpetuity of praise.
5:26
Well, we, as we journey along the pathway of praise, need to
5:31
understand how it is that this praise is to be something that's
5:35
continual every single day, every week, every month of the
5:41
year, not just during the Christmas season.
5:45
So we began this study a few months ago, and we're going to
5:49
continue it into the new year because we want your New year to
5:53
be filled with praise to your God.
5:59
If you got your Bible, turn with me to Psalm 148.
6:04
Psalm 148 is a unique Psalm because there is no prayer,
6:09
there is no plea, there is no petition.
6:14
It's all about praise. It begins with Hallelujah and it
6:20
ends with Hallelujah. So to Psalm 146, one, 47149 and
6:26
150. They all begin with the same
6:28
phrase, praise the Lord. But Psalm 148 is is a unique
6:35
Psalm because that the psalmist isn't asking God for anything,
6:40
he's just praising God for who he is.
6:45
And you will note that there is to be a heavenly praise as well
6:49
as an earthly praise. You will note in the 1st 6
6:54
verses that praise is to be done in the celestial.
7:03
In verses 7, the following praise is to be done in the
7:09
terrestrial. So you have celestial praise and
7:14
terrestrial praise, you have heavenly praise, and you have
7:18
earthly praise. Read along with me.
7:23
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord from the heavens.
7:26
This is the celestial praise. Praise Him in the heights,
7:32
praise them all as angels, praise them all as hosts, Praise
7:35
Him sun and moon, Praise Him All Stars of light.
7:40
Praise Him highest heavens and the waters that are above the
7:44
heavens. Let them praise the name of the
7:48
Lord, for He commanded, and they were created.
7:55
So there is to be heavenly beings that praise the Lord, and
8:03
there are heavenly bodies, the stars and the heavens that
8:08
praise the Lord. And then he says this.
8:12
He says He has also established them forever and ever.
8:17
He has made a decree which will not pass away.
8:20
For seven, praise the Lord from the earth.
8:28
So first he says, praise the Lord from the heavens, That's
8:31
celestial praise. Now praise the Lord from the
8:36
earth. That is terrestrial praise.
8:39
So he says, sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and
8:44
clouds, stormy wind fulfilling his word, mountains and all
8:50
hills, fruit trees and all Cedars, beasts and all cattle,
8:55
creeping things and wing fowl, kings of the earth and all
9:00
peoples, Princess and all judges of the earth, both young men and
9:04
virgins, old men and children, let them praise the name of the
9:09
Lord, for His name alone is exalted.
9:14
His glory is above earth and heaven, and He has lifted up a
9:18
horn for his people. Praise for all his godly ones,
9:24
even the sons of Israel, a people near to him.
9:29
Hallelujah or praise the Lord. Notice the repetition of the
9:35
praise that says, Let them praise the name of the Lord.
9:45
Let them praise the nature and character of God, for He is the
9:51
Creator of all things. He is the author of all things
9:56
and we are to be involved in the praise of God.
10:01
And so that emphasizes the fact that there is to be something
10:05
happening all the time. So our theme verse for the
10:09
series is Isaiah 4321, which says the people that I have
10:14
formed for myself, they will declare my praise.
10:21
In other words, God's people will do something, they will
10:26
praise him. It's a fact.
10:29
It's what God's people do. They're involved in perpetual
10:36
praise. And so we need to understand how
10:39
it is I engage in that from day-to-day.
10:44
How can I go through the end of this year into a new year
10:49
knowing that all the things that have taken place in my life,
10:53
both negative and positive, good and bad, how do I maintain the
10:59
perpetuity of praise? How do I do that as I embark on
11:05
a a new year not knowing anything that's going to happen
11:09
because it's all under the sovereign plan of the living
11:12
God? But how can I in advance know
11:15
that my life is to be characterized with perpetual
11:20
praise? Remember Psalm 34 verse #1 I
11:27
will bless the Lord at all times.
11:32
Not sometimes, not good times or just good times, but all times.
11:41
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
11:47
So somehow the psalmist knew about perpetual praise and how
11:51
it's to be continually in his mouth.
11:57
And then you have Psalm one, O 4, verse 33.
12:02
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
12:07
And then he says I will sing praise to my God while I have my
12:15
being. In other words, as long as I'm
12:17
alive, I'm going to praise the Lord.
12:21
As long as I'm breathing, it's about praising the Lord, singing
12:26
praises to His name. And you got to ask yourself, is
12:29
that you? Is that me?
12:31
Is that how we live our lives? So what are the character
12:36
qualities of the person who understands the perpetuity of
12:40
praise? I'm going to give them to you
12:42
this week and next week #1 is this.
12:46
You must realize that His power is always available.
12:57
His power is always available. If God commands you to do
13:05
something, he will always give you the power to accomplish it.
13:13
God's not going to ask you to do something and say, well, I, I
13:16
hope you work it out. I hope you can get your act
13:19
together. I, I hope this is going to be
13:22
easy for you. I know it's difficult, but
13:25
hopefully you can make it easier on yourself.
13:28
No, God makes sure that he gives you the power to accomplish
13:33
everything you need to accomplish.
13:38
God's power is absolutely unique.
13:44
It's unlike anything we ever know.
13:48
In fact, Psalm 77 verse 13 says this Your way, O God is holy,
13:57
what God is great like our God. You are the God who works
14:01
wonders. You have made known your
14:05
strength among the peoples. You have by your power redeemed
14:11
your people, the sons of God and Joseph.
14:18
Psalm 6211 says that power belongs to God.
14:26
He is called El Shaddai, the almighty God.
14:32
In fact, the Bible says in Job 9 verse #19 if it is a matter of
14:39
power, behold, God is the strong one.
14:46
Revelation 19/6 says Alleluia. For the Lord God, omnipotent
14:56
reigns. God is all powerful.
15:01
But sometimes I think we can, we can say that God's all powerful.
15:08
We can sing about the power of God.
15:14
We can even shout that God is powerful.
15:21
But isn't it interesting that very few people show that God is
15:27
powerful? We we live in the realm of I
15:31
can't. My mom used to always say can't
15:35
die. Good, bury them.
15:36
Does your mom used to say that? Some mom used to always say,
15:39
mom, I can't do that. She says can't die and could
15:42
bury them. In other words, you can do it,
15:44
you just don't want to do it. You choose not to do it.
15:50
We say I, I can't love this person or that person.
15:56
Well, yes, you can. You just choose not to or you
16:00
won't. You say I can't forgive what
16:04
they've done to me. Yes, you can.
16:06
You just won't forgive that person.
16:11
You You say I can't return good for evil.
16:14
Well you can, you just choose not to.
16:17
Or you refuse to do what God has said.
16:24
We'll say things like I can't overcome my fear.
16:29
Yes you can, because perfect love casts out fear.
16:33
You just choose not to. I can't overcome my anxious
16:38
feelings. Yes, you can.
16:42
You've just chosen not to. You see, we, we, we don't
16:47
understand the power of God. So, so God says to his men, he
16:53
says in Acts chapter one verse #8 that the, the Holy Spirit
16:59
will come upon you and you will, you, you shall receive power,
17:05
power and you shall be my witnesses.
17:08
You're going to receive something and then you're going
17:11
to become something. You're going to become what I
17:14
need you to be because the power that I'm going to infuse you
17:17
with, and that is the Spirit of the living God.
17:22
And if you read the book of Acts, you see a bunch of men who
17:26
were changed drastically from the Gospels.
17:30
Why? Because the Spirit of God
17:34
indwells them, empowers them to accomplish all that God designed
17:39
them to accomplish. That's why they could continue
17:42
to praise the name of God, rejoice in the midst of their
17:46
suffering. Why?
17:47
Because they were living under the power of the living God.
17:51
So Paul tells Timothy in second Timothy one verse #7 God has not
17:56
given you a spirit of timidity. Stop being timid, Timothy.
18:03
Stop being fearful, Timothy. Because God didn't give you that
18:06
kind of spirit. Instead, He gave you spirit of
18:11
power, of love and of self-discipline.
18:17
He gives you the the spirit that's powerful enough to help
18:20
you to love your enemies and to be able to discipline your life
18:25
to the obedience of God. You see, we can, we can speak
18:30
about the power of God and we can sing about the power of God.
18:33
We just don't show that we are under the power of the living
18:39
God. Will we live as if God doesn't
18:42
even exist. We live as practical atheists as
18:47
there is as if there is no God. That I can't do what God's
18:50
called me to do. But you can because God has
18:53
equipped you with the Spirit. When you walk in the Spirit and
18:57
you're filled with the Spirit of God, you're able to accomplish
19:00
great things. Remember what Paul prayed in the
19:04
book of Ephesians, the first chapter Paul says, and chapter
19:10
one verse #18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be
19:13
enlightened so you will know what is the hope of His calling,
19:18
What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
19:20
Saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His
19:26
power toward us who believe? Paul says, I want you to
19:32
understand the surpassing greatness of His power.
19:37
What kind of power? He says these are in accordance
19:42
with the working of the strength of his might, which he brought
19:46
about in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him
19:51
at the right hand in the heavenly places.
19:55
It's the power of God that did that.
19:58
And my, my prayer, Paul says for you and Ephesus, is that somehow
20:01
you, your eyes will be open to the greatness of surpassing
20:05
greatness of the power of God. And if if you go to chapter 3 of
20:10
Ephesians, he says that this way verse 20.
20:13
Now to him who was able to do far more abundantly beyond all
20:17
that we ask or think according to the power that works within
20:24
us. It's the power of God that's
20:27
working within us. My life can be lived in a state
20:32
of perpetual praise because the power of God is always
20:38
available. It's always there, it's never
20:43
dormant. It's always available to me and
20:50
to you. So we can't live in the realm of
20:53
I can't do this or I can't do what God's called me to do.
20:57
I can't do what God's commanded me to do.
20:59
I can't do. Yes, you can.
21:02
You just choose not to, or you refuse to obey what God has
21:10
said. His power is always available.
21:18
Listen to what Second Chronicles 16 says, for the eyes of the
21:32
Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may
21:35
strengthen those whose heart is completely his.
21:42
God's whole desire is to strengthen the heart of those
21:45
that are completely his. In fact, that that's what
21:49
salvation is all about. That is the that what the new
21:52
covenant promise is all about. Listen to the words in Ezekiel
21:59
chapter 36, verse 22. Therefore say to the House of
22:05
Israel. Thus says the Lord God.
22:06
It is not for your sake, O House of Israel, that I am about to
22:09
act, but for My holy name which you have profaned among the
22:14
nations where you went. I will vindicate the holiness of
22:17
My great name which has been profaned among the nations which
22:21
you have profaned in their midst.
22:24
Then the nations will know that I am the Lord.
22:28
The Lord makes it very clear that Israel had profaned His
22:32
name among the nations. Well, the only way that can be
22:36
reversed is if God acts. And so He gives the new covenant
22:41
promise. Listen to what He says.
22:43
He says, when I prove myself holy among you in their sight.
22:48
For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the
22:51
lands, and bring you into your own land.
22:54
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean.
22:58
I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your
23:02
idols. Moreover, I will give you a new
23:04
heart and put a new spirit within you.
23:06
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give
23:09
you a heart of flesh. And I will pour my spirit within
23:13
you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be
23:20
careful to observe my ordinances.
23:24
God says I'm going to cause you to obey me, I'm going to cause
23:30
you to follow me. That that's why it's incongruous
23:34
for someone to say that I love the Lord, I serve the Lord, I
23:37
believe in the Lord and continue a life of disobedience to the
23:41
Lord because the new covenant promises is that God says I will
23:45
put my spirit in you. It's not a spirit of timidity,
23:49
but of power and of love and of self-discipline so that you are
23:53
able to do what I've commanded you to do.
23:57
You see, God equips us for all those things so we can live the
24:01
life He's called us to live. We can honor His beautiful name.
24:06
We can live a life of perpetual praise.
24:09
Why? Because the power of God is
24:14
always available. It was Jeremiah who said in
24:24
Jeremiah 32, Ah, Lord God, behold, you have made the
24:27
heavens and the earth by your great power and by your
24:32
outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for
24:36
you. Verse 26 Then the word of the
24:39
Lord came to Jeremiah, say, and behold, I am the Lord, the God
24:43
of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for
24:47
me? The answer is no.
24:51
Isaiah 40 tells us that he he never wearies, He never tires.
24:57
God doesn't doesn't give you strength.
25:01
And then sit back and say I've got to replenish myself so I can
25:04
give somebody else strength. God doesn't work that way.
25:08
That way God is power, and so power is who he is.
25:13
He is He, the omnipotent God, and so he never wearies, He
25:18
never tires. So when He dispenses His
25:20
strength to His people, he doesn't have to replenish that
25:24
which He has dispensed because He's all powerful.
25:28
And so He's always made his power available to His people.
25:34
That allows you to live a life of perpetual praise, no matter
25:38
what the situation, no matter what the circumstance.
25:41
You can never say I can't do that because God has enabled you
25:45
to do that to the power of the Spirit of God that lives within
25:49
you. So principle number one is that
25:52
his power is always available. Principle number 2 is this.
26:01
His promises are always undeniable.
26:08
His promises are always undeniable, or you can say His
26:14
promises are always dependable, they're always reliable.
26:21
God makes a promise. He cannot lie.
26:25
He keeps His word, and therefore when He says the people that I
26:30
have formed for myself, they will declare my praise.
26:34
He tells you that it's possible to do this because it's a
26:38
promise that He's given to infuse you with His strength to
26:45
make it all possible. His His promises are undeniable.
26:55
Second Corinthians 120 All the promises of God are yes in
27:01
Christ Jesus. All the promises of God are yes
27:06
in Christ Jesus. The promise of peace is yes in
27:12
Christ. The promise of joy is yes in
27:15
Christ. The promise of salvation is yes
27:18
in Christ. The promise of eternal life is
27:20
yes in Christ. The promise of comfort is yes in
27:25
Christ. Christ is the fulfilment of all
27:28
promises that That's why we encourage you throughout the
27:32
Christmas season to at least get a copy of the book The Christ of
27:36
Christmas that there are there are 333 specific promises
27:43
centered on the coming of the Messiah and only 109 of them
27:47
were fulfilled in his first coming.
27:50
That means that there are 224 yet to be fulfilled.
27:54
But of the 100 and 925 of them are here that you can read, that
27:59
you can study, that you can understand when God makes a
28:02
promise, he keeps the promise. So it's about promises foretold
28:07
and promises fulfilled. Why?
28:11
It builds your trust in what God has said.
28:15
It makes you realize how his promises are undeniable,
28:21
dependable, reliable. God always keeps his word.
28:27
Now if you were with us on on on Christmas Eve, we talked about
28:32
celebrating the light and when we looked at 9 different
28:36
characters that would help you understand how to celebrate the
28:39
light. All all Christmas characters in
28:42
the Christmas narrative. And the first one was Zacharias.
28:47
Because when the Angel Gabriel came to Zacharias, he denied the
28:52
certainty of the promises of God.
28:55
He doubted the reliability of the promises of God.
29:00
So what did God do? He made him deaf and dumb.
29:04
He could not hear and he could not speak for nine months.
29:09
But why would God do that? Because in order for him to
29:13
understand the promises of God, he's a priest.
29:17
What a priest do they instruct people in the promises of God.
29:22
They instruct people in terms of how to know their God.
29:26
But if the priest doubts the promises of God, the people will
29:30
doubt the promises of God. So God said, you can't speak,
29:34
you can't hear for nine months because what you're going to do
29:37
is you're going to focus in on the promises that I've given
29:40
you. So you know this because you
29:41
when you read Zacharias's song, it's all about the praise of Old
29:46
Testament promises. He is now praising God because
29:51
the promises on how the sunrise will rise now that the Messiah
29:55
is coming, the light to the revelation, the light of
29:59
revelation to the Gentiles is now dawning on the people in
30:04
this country. God is doing the work.
30:06
He's fulfilling His promises, but God put him in isolation to
30:13
focus in on the promises because he could not afford to continue
30:19
to deny the certainty and the reliability of the promises of
30:25
God. You see, we forget that when God
30:29
makes a promise, He keeps it. So God says, you know that all
30:39
things work together for good to those who love God and are
30:42
called according to His purpose. The promise is this, that no
30:47
matter what has happened in your life, good or bad, God is
30:52
bringing them all together to bring about ultimately you're
30:57
good and His glory. That's a promise.
31:03
Now, in the midst of certain situations, we don't understand
31:07
the goodness that's there. It's like at Christmas time when
31:10
you begin to bake cookies, right?
31:13
And you get all the ingredients out to bake the cookies.
31:18
Tasting each ingredient by itself may or may not taste
31:22
good. For instance, if you take the
31:24
sugar, you taste it, it's sweet, it's good.
31:28
You take the cinnamon, you taste it, it's sweet, It's good.
31:31
If you take the dough by itself before it's cooked and tasted,
31:35
not so good. If you take the flour and you
31:39
put in your mouth, not so good. But when it's all been baked in
31:44
the oven and it comes out, it tastes all so good.
31:48
Why? Because once you put all the
31:50
ingredients together, you realize that what comes out is
31:54
something that's good and tasteful.
31:58
God is in the process of baking cookies in your life.
32:03
He's in the process of taking everything that's good,
32:06
everything that's bad. Put it together so that because
32:10
you've been called according to His purposes, these things will
32:13
work out together for your good. Because God will be glorified.
32:18
That's what God's doing. That's the promises of God.
32:22
Listen to what Peter says in first Peter chapter chapter 5
32:27
verse #10 he says the God of all grace, who called you to his
32:33
eternal glory will himself. OK, Now remember he says in
32:40
verse early in verse 10, after you've suffered for a little
32:43
while, the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory
32:49
in Christ will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and
32:52
establish you to Him be dominion forever and ever.
32:55
Amen. God is going to allow you to
32:58
suffer for a little while, not forever, but for a little while.
33:05
And what God is going to do is that He is going to absolutely
33:08
perfect you. And it is tie all the loose ends
33:12
together, bring that which is lacking into your life so your
33:17
life will be fulfilled. He's going to perfect you and
33:21
then He's going to confirm you or establish you.
33:28
He's going to make you a solid as granite.
33:31
And then on top of that, He is going to strengthen you.
33:35
He's going to feel you with strength and then He's going to
33:41
settle you. He's going to lay a firm
33:44
foundation in your life. That's the promise that God
33:49
gives after you've suffered for a little while, not forever, but
33:54
for a little while, God is doing something that's going to
33:57
perfect, establish, confirm, and settle you so that you become
34:01
the person God wants you to be. That's a promise that God has
34:05
given. That's what God's doing.
34:09
You might not see it today. You may not see it tomorrow, but
34:13
all those things are going to work together for good because
34:16
you love God. They're called according to His
34:18
purpose. And so He's going to establish
34:20
you, strengthen you, confirm you, restore you, make you to
34:25
the kind of person that He wants you to be for His glory and for
34:28
His honor. That's a promise that God gives.
34:32
He says in John 14, My peace I give unto you, not as the world
34:37
gives give unto you, but My peace I give unto you.
34:40
I'm going to give you my peace in, in, in John 1511, He says,
34:45
I've spoken these things unto you that your joy may be made
34:49
full because I want you to experience my joy.
34:54
Christ says, and so I'm going to promise you joy.
34:58
I'm going to give you my joy. I'm going to promise you peace.
35:01
I'm going to give you my peace. I'm going to promise you comfort
35:05
because I'm going to give you another comforter, one that will
35:08
be called alongside of you, one that will live inside of you.
35:11
All those things are promises by the true and living God.
35:16
His promises are undeniable. So I can live a life of
35:21
perpetual praise because I know His power is available and His
35:27
promises are undeniable. So I can praise Him for what
35:31
He's doing and what He's going to do in my life.
35:36
He was 13 five. He says I will never leave you,
35:41
nor will I ever forsake you. Wow.
35:47
No human being can say that. Only the living God can say
35:51
that. Only the living God can say I
35:54
will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you.
35:57
I am here with you forever. So that leads us to our Third
36:02
Point. If His power is always
36:05
available, His promises are always undeniable.
36:09
That means His presence is absolutely unavoidable.
36:17
His presence is unavoidable. There's no place you can go
36:24
that's outside of God's presence.
36:28
And because His presence is unavoidable, perpetual praise
36:34
can happen because it all depends on the true and living
36:40
God. Remember Jonah when he tried to
36:43
flee from the Lord's presence? What was he thinking?
36:49
They could get on a boat and go the opposite direction, thinking
36:52
that God is not on the boat or in the sea or present among him.
36:59
We, we, we tend to think that way.
37:02
I can hide from God. You can't hide from God.
37:06
He's everywhere. He knows everything.
37:09
He sees everything. Listen to to Jeremiah chapter
37:15
23, Jeremiah 23 verse 23 am IA. God who is near declares the
37:22
Lord. And not a God far off.
37:26
Can a man hide himself in hiding places?
37:29
So I do not see him, declares the Lord.
37:32
Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?
37:37
Declares the Lord. He fills everything.
37:44
His presence is absolutely unavoidable.
37:53
Now again, if you were with us on Christmas Eve, we talked to
38:02
you about the very last phrase in the book of Ezekiel.
38:08
Very last phrase is Yahweh Shama, the Lord is near.
38:16
That's important to the prophecy of Ezekiel because Ezekiel would
38:20
see the glory of the Lord depart from the temple.
38:25
He would receive this vision of God's presence.
38:27
That's why Ichabod was written. The crossed Israel, meaning the
38:31
Lord has departed. Why?
38:34
Because the glory of the Lord, which is the presence of God
38:37
manifested in brilliant light, had departed.
38:39
He saw it leave the temple, leave through the eastern gate,
38:42
send up the Mount of Olives, and disappear into the Judean
38:45
wilderness. Because the presence of God had
38:48
had departed from the people of God.
38:51
Not. Not that God wasn't there.
38:53
It's just that the active movement of God in and among his
38:57
people was no longer going to happen.
38:59
He was going to leave them in isolation in Babylonian
39:02
captivity, but the promise was this that one day the Lord will
39:09
be there Yave Shema, the Lord is there, the Lord is present.
39:16
The glory of the Lord is going to return.
39:18
And so at Christmas time when the glory of the Lord would
39:21
shine all around the shepherds that that would mean that the
39:24
presence of God was was returning right.
39:29
And so John would say, And the Word became flesh and dwelt
39:33
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only
39:40
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
39:42
John says we beheld the glory of God.
39:45
The promise is Yahweh, Shema. The Lord is there.
39:48
The Lord came, the Lord has arrived, but Israel did not see
39:52
Him as such. In fact, every year Israel
39:56
celebrates the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles.
40:01
Where they go out in their backyard and they build with
40:03
these stats roofs and they live in the backyard or in the
40:07
wilderness somewhere somehow for a week so that they can identify
40:13
with their forefathers who in the wilderness experience the
40:20
presence of the living God and His glory in anticipation of the
40:26
time in which God will once again live among them, be
40:33
present among them, that the Lord will actually be there
40:36
among them. Now they missed it when He came
40:38
the first time that they understood that God would be
40:42
above them, that the Lord is in the heavens, He does whatever He
40:45
pleases. They knew that that that God
40:48
would would someday come to dwell with them.
40:53
They knew Isaiah 714 that you should call His name Emmanuel,
40:56
meaning God with us. They understood that, but they
41:01
didn't understand that God would be in us.
41:05
That's the fulfillment of Colossians 127, which was a
41:08
mystery, a mystery concealing the old, but revealed in the
41:12
new. And that is that God would
41:15
actually not just dwell among us, He'd actually live on the
41:18
inside of us. And the only way he could do
41:21
that is because God gave his only begotten Son, and God gave
41:25
us his Son so that God could dwell within us.
41:28
And if God is in US, God is for us and of God's force, who can
41:32
be against us? See that?
41:35
And so everything was was about the the unavoidable presence of
41:39
the living God, that God is going to dwell in his people.
41:44
He's going to walk among his people, and he is going to use
41:47
his people for his glory. Therefore, His people will live
41:56
a life of perpetual praise because His presence is
42:02
absolutely unavoidable. His power is always available
42:13
and to understand that His promises are absolutely
42:22
undeniable, listen to what Psalm 75 one says.
42:28
We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks for your name is
42:37
near. That is your nature, your
42:42
character, your person. Who you are is near to us.
42:50
That that's how you live a life of perpetual praise.
42:57
To understand the promises of God, to understand the power of
43:01
God, to understand the presence of God enables you to praise his
43:06
glorious name. That God is doing great things
43:10
in and among us, in and among you and your family.
43:15
God is not going to desert you. God is not going to leave you.
43:20
God's always going to be present among you.
43:22
Why? Because God wants you to lean
43:25
completely and totally upon him. He wants you to.
43:28
He wants to walk you through those difficult times.
43:31
That's why Psalmist said even though I walk through the valley
43:33
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
43:35
Why? Because thou art with me.
43:38
Thy rod and the staff, they comfort me.
43:40
David knew that. Do we know that?
43:45
So instead of talking about the power of God and singing about
43:49
the power of God, how about we show the power of God is always
43:54
available in our lives, in our interaction with our family,
43:59
with the people at work. They would see that we can, we
44:02
can sacrifice on their behalf. We can love on their behalf.
44:06
We can demonstrate the peace of God on their behalf.
44:09
We can return good for evil on their behalf for the glory of
44:13
God. Why?
44:14
Because the power of God's available, it's there.
44:17
And that his, his promises, His promises are undeniable.
44:24
He will fulfill every one of them in your heart.
44:26
Because all the promises are yes in Christ Jesus.
44:31
And the way you are secure and all that is because His presence
44:35
is absolutely unavoidable. You can't get away from the
44:41
Lord. You might feel he's far away, or
44:44
you might think he's far away, but he is not.
44:47
The Lord is near to all those who call upon him.
44:51
To all those who call upon him. In truth, God is always, always
44:58
there because He's Yahweh. Shema, let's pray together.
45:03
Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for this chance to
45:06
spend a brief moment in the Word of God.
45:08
We thank you for the things you've taught us this year.
45:11
We anticipate what you'll teach us in the new year and pray that
45:14
we take these principles with us that we might live a life of
45:18
perpetual praise to the glory and honor of you, our King, in
45:24
Jesus name, Amen.