Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / A Call to Worship (Psalm 100)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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A Call to Worship (Psalm 100)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Take your copy of God's Word, or if you need
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one, there should be one there in front of you
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in the pew back, and open up to Psalm 100. Psalm
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100. And as you turn there, you're going to hear
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that Psalm 100 is a very special Psalm in the
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life of this church. And as we have several former
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pastors of this church, no doubt, At least one,
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maybe two, or maybe three have preached on Psalm
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100. But even as it is so great to have preachers
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who have preached on this, we must remember first
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and foremost, friends, this is God's word. And
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so let's read it now. Psalm 100, a psalm of giving
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thanks, a joy toward all the earth, serve the
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Lord with gladness, come into his presence with
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singing. Know that the Lord, he is God. It is
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he who made us and we are his. We are his people
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and the sheep of his pasture. Thanksgiving and
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his courts with praise to him. Bless his name.
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For the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures
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forever. and his faithfulness to all generations.
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This is God's word. Let us pray. Heavenly Father,
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we come before you this evening gathered as your
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people with your word spread before us. And we
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ask, Lord, for your help. We ask for your illumination
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of this text that we might rightly understand
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it. and apply it in worshiping you, Father, Son,
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and Holy Spirit. For we pray it in the name of
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Christ. Amen. The founders of Fairview Presbyterian
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Church came to America in search of a place to
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worship. And they came as Presbyterians from
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Antrim County, Ireland. And where they settled
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eventually, it's right here. And right here has
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been called by some God's acre over the hill,
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especially referring to the cemetery. But can
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you think of a better place to be than God's
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acre? I cannot. It's a pretty good place. And
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their first actions upon arriving here showcase
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for us that this place was always meant to be
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a place of worship and prayer. Hear this from
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our very own history book. Nightfall found foot
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sore and weary beside a bold spring of ice cold
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water issuing from a rung rocks and the roots
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of an immense tulip or poplar tree. Here in this
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green spot the tired guides kindled the first
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campfire to have a cheery blaze when the others
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came up to indulge in rest. The brothers retired
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apart on the eastern hillside and joined hands
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in solemn covenant with God and each other. After
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prayer, they repeated a psalm and singing old
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hundredth went down to camp. Did you hear that?
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These brothers who came here, these founders
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of the church, they came here weary from their
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travel and yet they would not eat and they would
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not sleep under the stars until they had prayed
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and praised God with the very psalm that we look
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at tonight. But why this one? Why Psalm 100 over
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16 years ago? When I came to this church as the
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very part -time youth director, I wondered the
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same thing, because I would see Psalm 100 on
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plaques on the wall, or I would see it in the
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historical building. Even for a time, it graced
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the front cover of our bulletin. Why Psalm 100?
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There are, after all, 150 Psalms to choose from.
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So why this one? Well, for one thing, you cannot
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get all of Psalm 119 on the front of a bulletin.
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But even more than that, this psalm expresses
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the heartbeat of our church's ancestors. They
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were thankful. Psalm 100, as you look at it here,
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this is the only psalm in the Psalter with the
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superscript that says, a psalm for giving thanks.
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Now, indeed, many Psalms do express thanksgiving,
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but this one clearly does. And it's also a Psalm
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about worship. As many have noted, it contains
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not just one call to worship, it contains seven
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calls to worship, seven imperatives, commands
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for us. And tonight, I want us to look at those
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and to help us understand this a little better.
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Just two points this evening, one, the call to
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worship and to the basis for our worship. But
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as we look at this, I want to make sure that
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we keep Jesus front and center, because as Christopher
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Ash rightly says, it is by Jesus and only Jesus
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that men and women, boys and girls can accept
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the invitation of Psalm 100. To help us wrap
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our minds around this, let me ask you, if you've
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had an experience like I have had, have you ever
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been providentially hindered from being in worship
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for a time? A time when you could not be with
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the rest of the congregation. Maybe you were
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battling an illness for a while. Or maybe you
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had moved away from your home church and you're
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trying to find a new church. Or maybe you were
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like me one time moving to a foreign country
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and having to worship in churches where you could
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not understand a single word of what was going
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on. Have you had that experience? I believe that
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David did because David wrote Psalm 61 that begins
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like this. Hear my cry, O God. Listen to my prayer.
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From the end of the earth, I call to you when
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my heart is faint. lead me to the rock that is
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higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a
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strong tower against the enemy." Within that
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Psalm, David expresses just this yearning to
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be in worship, and he is for some reason kept
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at a distance from Jerusalem. He's kept at a
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distance from his worshipping brothers and sisters,
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and he feels like he is at the very end of the
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earth. Friends, to be kept from worship is a
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sad and painful thing, but I don't want you to
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experience that before you have understand the
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sheer joy of worship. Look at verse one. Make
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a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Friends,
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Psalm 100 is a gift for those of us who have
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less than stellar voices. Because all you got
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to do is make a joyful noise, right? Psalm 100
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is the off -key singer's favorite tune. And so
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for that reason, when we get to the end of the
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sermon and we get to the point where we're actually
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going to sing this Psalm, sing out in joy. But
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there's also this. As it says, make a joyful
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noise to the Lord, it says all the earth. We
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know that the Psalms were written by Israelites.
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Israelite men, but it was never to be kept within
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the Jews It was to be sung the Psalms were to
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be sung by all people It says make this joyful
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noise all the earth meaning that this psalm was
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written for you This psalm was written for you
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to sing To worship by this is a psalm for all
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of the earth. It is a bold invitation. It is
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a call to worship. Augustine said this, This
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command has indeed been heard by all the earth.
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Already the entire earth is shouting its joy
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to the Lord, or if any part is not shouting yet,
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it soon will be. For the blessing is extending
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to all peoples. The church began from Jerusalem,
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but as it spreads, it overthrows impiety in every
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place. and builds up godliness instead. Friends,
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I want you to ask yourselves today, am I a worshiper
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of the one true and triune God? Am I a worshiping
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individual? Is His praise on your lips? Is what
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we're doing tonight the joy and purpose of your
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life? For you remember the shorter catechism
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the first one man's chief end is to glorify God
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and to enjoy him forever and Friends God has
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been faithful to have a church here making a
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joyful noise glorifying and enjoying him here
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for 240 years and what a gift that is isn't it
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and so let me extend this invitation to you if
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You do not have a church home if you do not have
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a people with which to make the joyful noise.
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Let it be here as God has continued to add to
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our number throughout all of these decades. And
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so would you be here or in your home church,
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but make sure that you do. Verse two, look there,
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serve the Lord with gladness. Now, typically
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hear the word serve, and we think of obediently
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living out our faith and that is very true. We
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may think of Romans 12 here presenting our bodies
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as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to
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God. But I think we should also consider this
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service in terms of worship. It's called a worship
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service for a reason. But this also shows how
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we are to serve, how we are to worship with joy
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and with gladness. Spurgeon said the worship
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given is not a melancholy one, as though adoration
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were a funeral solemnity, but a cheery, glad
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-some exhortation, as though we were bidden to
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a marriage feast. This is the kind of joy we
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should have as redeemed peoples, such that we
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can truly come into his presence with singing.
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Friends, I want you to know that we are only
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here tonight singing and worshiping because of
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the Lord Jesus Christ. We can only come into
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the presence of God because of Jesus. And as
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it says, come into his presence, this is very
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literally come before his face. You can only
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come before his face because of the work of Jesus
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Christ that he did for you Christian. And without
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Christ, we would be lost forever. We would be
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unable to come into God's presence. Because you
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might remember Isaiah 59 that says, our iniquities
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have made a separation between us and God. Friends,
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God is perfectly holy in every single possible
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way. But we are fallen creatures. Every single
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one of us has fallen short of the glory of God.
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What does Jesus do for us? He makes a way doesn't
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he or in his own words the only way to God we
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have For sake he made him to be sin who knew
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no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness
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of God without Christ no hope Zero hope, but
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in Him we have everything. And so what is the
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right response to who Christ is and what He has
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done for us? The right response is worship, isn't
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it? It is worship, and it is to invite others
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to experience that too. Because again from verse
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1, this call goes out to all the earth, and does
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that not remind you of some of Jesus' last Words
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before He ascended to the Father, go therefore
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and make what? Disciples of all nations. This
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Jesus is to go out to all the world and this
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call to praise Him is too. Perhaps here we should
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remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter five,
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Matthew five, 14 through 16. He said, You are
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the light of the world, a city set on a hill.
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cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp
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and put it under a basket, but on a stand. And
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it gives light to all in the house in the same
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way. Let your light shine before others so that
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they may see your good works and give glory to
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your father who is in heaven. We are to be friends
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that city on a hill. If that's the acre, this
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is what it is the hill. So let us be a lighthouse
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in which the light goes out and beckons the people
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of Fountain Inn and Simpsonville and Malden and
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Greenville and Gray Court to come and to worship
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the triune God Let us let us have the gospel
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on our lips and ready to share with people that
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they might verse 4 Enter his gates with Thanksgiving
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that they might enter his gates with Thanksgiving
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Friends, if you are like me, far too often I
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fail to give thanks. I fail to give thanks even
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though God has been so good to us. We can become
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impatient with him or we fail to see what he
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has done for us. Friends, when I hear the word
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Thanksgiving, I think about football and I think
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about a big meal. Do you think about that? What
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should we really be thinking about? We should
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be thinking about giving thanks. And just because
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I started talking about Thanksgiving here, do
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you ever do the thing when you are with your
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family at Thanksgiving and you get in a big circle
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and maybe you hold hands and everybody says what
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they're thankful for? We used to do that when
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I was a kid and had a rather large family. And
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I can remember thinking, when are we gonna get
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done with all of this giving thanks so we can
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have Thanksgiving? Do not be like that. Do not
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rush through your giving of thanks, be it in
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prayer, be it in worship, or in your service
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to Him. And as you can see from verse four, thanksgiving
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goes right along with praising, blessing His
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name, verse four. Most of the time we think of
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blessing. And what do we think? We think of God
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blessing us. We say a blessing or we receive
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a benediction. May the Lord bless you. But here
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we are the ones doing the blessing, blessing
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God. And this is a sign of adoration and respect.
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This is what we do in worship, right? I think
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here of Hebrews, which tells us to offer God
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worship with reverence and awe. And so you see,
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friends, we are to do all of these things, all
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of these imperatives, these commands within scripture.
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But you cannot miss this second point. Do not
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miss the basis for our worship. Look in verse
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three, as it says, know that the Lord, he is
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God. The psalmist is kind of like a math teacher.
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Children in here, you're in school. Does your
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math teacher ever tell you, You got to show your
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work, right? And here the psalmist tells us who
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we are worshiping and why we are doing our work
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to rightly sing, to rightly serve, to rightly
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enter praise and thank people need to know him.
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I wonder if you remember the time that Paul,
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the apostle Paul, confronted some people on what
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they did not know. Acts chapter 17, Acts 17,
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verses 22 and 23. So Paul standing in the midst
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of the Areopagus said, Men of Athens, I perceive
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that in every way you are very religious. For
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as I passed along and observed the objects of
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your worship, I found also an altar with this
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inscription to the unknown God. What therefore
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you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
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We do not have an unknown God. We have a known
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God. As we've been studying in our morning services
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through the book of Hebrews, we have said that
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God is the God who speaks. Well, God is also
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the God who is known. And so we recognize to
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whom we worship, to whom we give our worship,
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we do not worship blindly. I'm reminded here
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of, do you ever watch sporting events in which
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a team is losing pretty badly and somebody holds
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up a sign and says, we believe? Happens with
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most of my favorite teams. We believe in what
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the text tells us and it's not a what. It's a
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who know that the Lord, he is God and he is the
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one true God. And this text also tells us that
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he is the one who made us. We are his people,
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the sheep of his pasture. Friends, he is the
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creator of us all. But there may be a second
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way to understand this because we should recognize
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that God has been making a people for himself.
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As we have seen in Hebrews recently, Jesus is
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the builder of the house. Jesus is building his
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church, and he said the gates of hell would not
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prevail against it. Jesus continues to build
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his church just like he has built this church.
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And I don't mean the construction of the buildings,
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I mean the people. As 1 Peter chapter two says,
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once you were not a people, but now you are.
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once you had not received mercy, but now you
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have received mercy. But as we look at this,
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we also recognize something else about our Lord,
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that he is our shepherd, and we are his sheep.
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Psalm 23 communicates that. John chapter 10 says,
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Jesus is the good shepherd, and therefore, if
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you are in Christ, the good shepherd looks after
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you. And the Good Shepherd protects you and feeds
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you, and He goes after you when you go astray.
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And Jesus, the Good Shepherd, left the 99 to
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go after you and bring you back into the fold.
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And this Jesus has laid down His life for us
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in order that we would have everlasting life.
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And I started thinking, what a great encouragement
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that must have been for the founders of this
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church. For we know their history. We know about
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John and Samuel and David Paden, and we know
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about James Alexander and James Nesbitt and their
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families. We know the sort of persecution and
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oppression that was happening in the British
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Isles and the great ejection that happened over
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there when more than 2 ,000 ministers were punted
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from their pulpits, many of them being Presbyterian.
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And so what did those Presbyterian ministers
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do? Many of them made their way to Antrim County,
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Ireland, and they stayed there for 100 years.
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But then some of the same oppression came to
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them. And so what did they do? They made the
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brave and courageous decision to cross the pond.
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And what encouragement it must have been for
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them to say, we are the sheep of his pasture.
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knowing all that they went through to get here.
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Friends, our challenges may look different, but
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the protection is still the same because Jesus
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Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
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And when it was time for Jesus to lay down his
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life, he set his compass towards Jerusalem and
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he went straight there. order to be put up on
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a cross for you. Jesus is like a firefighter
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then running right into the flames. Just like
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Isaiah 43 2 says when you pass through the waters
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I will be with you and through the rivers they
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shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through
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fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall
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not consume you for I am the Lord your God the
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Holy One of Israel your Savior. Jesus is your
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Savior. And as we consider that, look at verse
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five. For this tells us just a few more things
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as I begin to wrap up. Firstly, the Lord is good.
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The Lord is good. He is good in everything. You
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remember after the creation, after each day,
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what did he say about the days? They're good.
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The things He had created, they're good. And
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so if those things are good, if what He has created
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is good, what does that say about the Creator?
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Psalm 34, taste and see that the Lord is good.
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He is the source of all goodness. But secondly,
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He's also the source of all love. His steadfast
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love endures forever. And 1 John 4 says he is
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love, and in love, God sent his son to redeem
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us by his covenantal, loyal love, his promised
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love, his accomplished love in Jesus Christ,
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and that kind of promised love, guess what? It
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never runs out. It endures forever and ever for
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you. And just as we do not have an unknown God,
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so we do not have an unknown object of His love.
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He puts His love upon His people. He puts His
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love upon you, Christian. But finally, the last
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line, His faithfulness, or your translation may
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say truth to all generations. Friends, if you
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look carefully, Psalm 100 is not the only one
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that you'll find around these grounds. You'll
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also find pieces of Psalm 90. You have been our
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dwelling place in all generations. Friends, as
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we celebrate his faithfulness here for 240 years,
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we're actually celebrating something greater
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than that. We are celebrating his faithfulness,
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period. We are celebrating him. 1 Corinthians
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1 9, God is faithful. by whom you are called
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into the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ
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our Lord. Friends, this is who he is. He is faithful
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and loving and good and worthy of our worship
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today and every day. And your being in Christ
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is evidence of his faithfulness because it comes
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through his son. We only know these things because
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of Jesus who laid down his life That you might
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come into God's presence with singing and sing
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forever that that you would go into his gates
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Into his courts and by faith in Jesus Christ
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Come in and so friends What do we say about that?
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What is our response to that? It's Thanksgiving.
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Let's pray