WEBVTT 00:00:10.971 --> 00:00:18.847 It's good to see everyone here today, especially some of you we haven't seen in a while and are visiting on this special day at West Sub. 00:00:18.847 --> 00:00:22.268 I think Tim and Deanne Abbott are here. 00:00:22.268 --> 00:00:25.588 I see Bob and Laura Speziel are here. 00:00:25.588 --> 00:00:31.643 I can't see anybody else Dream of Whites here somewhere. 00:00:31.643 --> 00:00:37.709 Thank you for being here to celebrate with us on this special day. 00:00:37.709 --> 00:00:49.442 We have been studying the book of Jonah in the Old Testament on Sunday mornings, but this Sunday we're going to break away to focus on this special occasion in the life of our church. 00:00:49.442 --> 00:00:56.261 If you'd like to see a sermon outline or borrow a Bible, our ushers will be helping you to help you right now. 00:00:56.261 --> 00:01:21.611 You know there are certain things that happen in our lives and in the life of the church that call for special times of praise and thanksgiving, and this is one of them. 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:30.971 Over 25 years ago we were outgrowing our church building, which was filled to capacity. 00:01:30.971 --> 00:01:34.927 Sunday school classes were meeting in homes. 00:01:34.927 --> 00:01:39.248 Our potlucks were held in the main auditorium that we had. 00:01:39.248 --> 00:01:47.311 So after much prayer, we began a new building program and a new building fund. 00:01:47.311 --> 00:01:57.421 I think after a couple three years we had a total of $60,000, I remember in the building fund. 00:01:57.421 --> 00:02:13.162 Some of you remember that, in all honesty, the several million dollars we needed to build a new facility seemed absolutely impossible for our little church, like in 2001,. 00:02:13.162 --> 00:02:28.222 After much prayer and planning, 35 families at the time in that church, in this church, pledged to give sacrificially $1.5 million over three years half the amount we needed. 00:02:28.222 --> 00:02:30.644 The money did come in. 00:02:30.644 --> 00:02:39.022 We took out a loan for the other half and everyone pitched in to help build the new facility. 00:02:39.022 --> 00:02:46.290 At the beginning of this year we had $290,000 left on our loan. 00:02:46.290 --> 00:02:58.848 A few months ago God provided all the money we needed to pay off the loan completely through the generosity of people right here at West Sub. 00:03:00.939 --> 00:03:05.131 Thank you to those who gave so generously, sacrificially. 00:03:05.131 --> 00:03:15.263 We want to praise God and thank Him for this wonderful provision for us, the body of Christ at West Sub. 00:03:15.263 --> 00:03:22.251 To help us do that this morning, I'd like to look at Psalm 105, which is a song of praise. 00:03:22.251 --> 00:03:33.106 Keep in mind right after this service, we're going to continue outside with what I termed a mortgage burning ceremony. 00:03:33.106 --> 00:03:38.247 It's not going to be an hour, it's going to be very brief because the luncheon to follow. 00:03:38.247 --> 00:03:43.026 Please those of you who want to come out and join us for that. 00:03:43.026 --> 00:03:45.331 I'll explain more about that in a minute. 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:52.270 But for now, as we focus on praising God, please turn in your hymn book to number 105. 00:03:52.270 --> 00:04:02.311 I mean the Bible's hymn book, psalm 105. 00:04:02.311 --> 00:04:20.226 Let me just read the first few verses O give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, sing to Him, sing praises to Him, speak of all His wonders. 00:04:20.226 --> 00:04:22.555 Glory in His holy name. 00:04:22.555 --> 00:04:25.708 Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. 00:04:25.708 --> 00:04:29.867 Seek the Lord in His strength, seek His face continually. 00:04:29.867 --> 00:04:37.668 Remember His wonders which he has done, his marvels and the judgment uttered by His mouth. 00:04:37.668 --> 00:04:42.562 O seed of Abraham, his servant, o sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. 00:04:42.562 --> 00:04:44.870 He is the Lord, our God. 00:04:44.870 --> 00:04:47.988 His judgments are in all the earth. 00:04:47.988 --> 00:04:55.309 He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. 00:04:56.319 --> 00:05:00.110 The Psalms, as you know, are God inspired songs. 00:05:00.110 --> 00:05:13.391 Psalms were the songs Jesus sang and he often quoted from them in His teaching, and many of the Psalms are what we call praise Psalms. 00:05:13.391 --> 00:05:14.202 This is one of them. 00:05:14.202 --> 00:05:20.367 The Psalms really do help us understand what it means to praise God. 00:05:20.367 --> 00:05:24.447 The Hebrew word for praise is the word halal. 00:05:24.447 --> 00:05:29.120 I've talked about this before, but it means to boast in something. 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:32.968 It means to shine a light on something that we really love and admire. 00:05:32.968 --> 00:05:40.706 And when you apply this to God, it's to call attention to something we see and admire about God. 00:05:40.706 --> 00:05:50.788 But genuine praise is more than an acknowledgement of what we admire or just saying or singing the words praise the Lord. 00:05:50.788 --> 00:05:52.122 It's more than that. 00:05:52.122 --> 00:05:56.749 Genuine praise goes much deeper in our heart and soul. 00:05:56.749 --> 00:06:00.809 Genuine praise not only expresses adoration. 00:06:00.809 --> 00:06:08.805 It also involves something that we actually experience in our heart and something we take pleasure in. 00:06:08.805 --> 00:06:09.266 God. 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:17.944 In his book on the Psalms, cs Lewis talks about what is at the heart of why we praise anything. 00:06:17.944 --> 00:06:21.005 I think it was very helpful to look at this. 00:06:21.005 --> 00:06:33.473 He says think of your response to something you see or hear that's absolutely astoundingly beautiful in sight or hearing. 00:06:33.473 --> 00:06:42.286 Could be a piece of art, could be a piece of music, or a moving performance Could be a breathtaking landscape. 00:06:44.110 --> 00:06:44.612 What do we do? 00:06:44.612 --> 00:06:45.663 We take it in. 00:06:45.663 --> 00:06:47.805 It fills our senses. 00:06:47.805 --> 00:06:56.764 In a sense, we stand back and love what we see or hear for its own sake, just for being what it is. 00:06:56.764 --> 00:06:59.180 Why? 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:02.545 Because it's absolutely beautiful. 00:07:02.545 --> 00:07:08.629 We praise something because of its innate beauty, wonder and excellence. 00:07:08.629 --> 00:07:19.309 We praise it just for what it is when it touches something deep within us, what happens? 00:07:19.309 --> 00:07:27.485 We see something beautiful, wonderful, absolutely astoundingly great, touches something deep and we take it in. 00:07:27.485 --> 00:07:31.446 We just have to acknowledge it. 00:07:31.446 --> 00:07:33.622 It's beautiful. 00:07:33.622 --> 00:07:41.165 We have to say something and do something to respond to something that moves us that deeply. 00:07:41.165 --> 00:07:44.062 That's praise. 00:07:44.062 --> 00:08:00.526 It's the same when it comes to praising God when we see, when we really get it, how beautiful, majestic, wonderful he really is and let it captivate us and move us. 00:08:00.526 --> 00:08:03.925 We can't help it, we have to praise Him. 00:08:03.925 --> 00:08:10.283 So what has touched you deeply about who God is? 00:08:15.168 --> 00:08:26.853 Praise happens when we begin to take in God's beauty, his excellence, his purity, his power, his holiness and His great love or faithfulness to us. 00:08:26.853 --> 00:08:33.616 Take it in our minds and hearts and we relish in it, we take pleasure in it. 00:08:33.616 --> 00:08:46.269 We realize that God's incomparable, he's unfathomable, there's no one like Him In the depths of His love toward us. 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:50.697 The Scripture actually says surpasses our ability to really understand. 00:08:50.697 --> 00:08:53.566 It's so great. 00:08:53.566 --> 00:09:01.453 When it comes to God, everything he is exceeds everything else. 00:09:01.453 --> 00:09:06.619 That is beautiful, lovely, wonderful, pure and excellent Everything. 00:09:06.619 --> 00:09:27.740 For us and the psalmist, this is what we'll focus on, what the psalmist focus on For the psalmist, for us, god's beauty, his majesty, his excellence, his holiness, his love can be seen in the things he does. 00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:33.554 Look at what he did, his wonderful acts. 00:09:35.524 --> 00:09:43.635 The occasion for Psalm 105 was to celebrate a really milestone in Israel's history. 00:09:43.635 --> 00:09:54.778 Under King David they were celebrating the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem to be back in the Tabernacle. 00:09:54.778 --> 00:10:08.441 Remember, the Ark of the Covenant we've talked about this before was where God's presence, his glory, dwelt in the midst of His people, israel, in the Holy of Holies, in the Ark of the Covenant. 00:10:08.441 --> 00:10:19.808 At one point the Ark of the Covenant was taken by Israel's enemies, the Philistines, and there was great mourning in Israel. 00:10:19.808 --> 00:10:25.118 It's like God was saying I've left you, you're not following me. 00:10:25.118 --> 00:10:43.695 But then God miraculously, miraculously brought it back to Israel and King David led the Ark and procession back into Jerusalem and he was so moved with joy. 00:10:43.695 --> 00:10:48.219 He danced, he sang and praised God. 00:10:48.219 --> 00:10:53.509 The celebration was amazing. 00:10:53.509 --> 00:10:56.573 We see the account in 1 Chronicles 16. 00:10:56.573 --> 00:11:15.695 But to help them celebrate this event monumental by saying God, god say I'm coming back, I'm going to be with you, the Ark is coming back. 00:11:15.695 --> 00:11:28.508 To help them celebrate the return of the Ark into Jerusalem, david asked Israel's musicians to write a song of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, and Psalm 105 is that song. 00:11:32.234 --> 00:11:48.259 The focus of Psalm 105 is praising the breathtaking beauty, power, majesty and holiness of the Lord as they saw them in His wonderful acts toward them. 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:58.561 They could see His hand at work in the history of them being the people of God. 00:11:58.561 --> 00:12:12.038 And Psalm 105 takes us through that, the wonders of His acts, to celebrate the return of God's presence to them in the Ark of the Covenant. 00:12:12.038 --> 00:12:19.993 Psalm 105 rehearses the wonder of how God made Israel His people, and that's how we see it. 00:12:19.993 --> 00:12:33.370 At the start of this the exhortation is remember His wonders which he's done, his marvels, his judgments uttered by His mouth. 00:12:33.370 --> 00:12:36.919 O seed of Abraham, his servant, o sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:38.673 He's the Lord, our God. 00:12:38.673 --> 00:12:42.057 His judgments are in all the earth. 00:12:42.057 --> 00:12:45.096 Another way to look at it is His acts. 00:12:45.096 --> 00:12:46.451 You've seen it. 00:12:46.451 --> 00:12:50.836 How could we not conclude how great he is? 00:12:50.836 --> 00:12:55.576 As they think through their own history, this is what the Psalm does. 00:12:55.576 --> 00:13:13.900 They see, and this is why it's a song of praise they see that what has happened to them as a people from the very beginning is absolutely miraculous and wonderful. 00:13:13.900 --> 00:13:28.317 Notice, as you go through the Psalm I'm going to go through it in the slides that God is the subject of the actions taking place in their history. 00:13:28.317 --> 00:13:32.456 Psalm 105, 8-44. 00:13:32.456 --> 00:13:34.092 Quickly go through it. 00:13:34.950 --> 00:13:39.201 Verse 8, god, he remembered His covenant with Abraham. 00:13:39.201 --> 00:13:41.576 Verse 10, he confirmed it with Jacob. 00:13:41.576 --> 00:13:44.658 Verse 14, he permitted no man to oppress them. 00:13:44.658 --> 00:13:46.576 He reproved kings for their sake. 00:13:46.576 --> 00:13:49.638 Verse 16, he called for a famine in the land. 00:13:49.638 --> 00:13:53.820 Verse 17, he sent Joseph before them, sold as a slave. 00:13:54.190 --> 00:13:58.360 Verse 24, he caused the people to become very fruitful in Egypt. 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:03.078 Verse 25, he turned the heart of the Egyptians to hate His people. 00:14:03.078 --> 00:14:07.796 He sent His servant, moses and Aaron, to perform signs and wonders in Egypt. 00:14:07.796 --> 00:14:12.239 Verse 28-36, he brought the ten plagues on Egypt. 00:14:12.239 --> 00:14:17.038 Verse 37, he brought them out of Egypt with silver and gold. 00:14:17.038 --> 00:14:22.096 Verse 39, he spread a cloud for their covering and a pillar of fire by night. 00:14:22.096 --> 00:14:30.394 Verse 40, he brought them quail, satisfied them with the bread of heaven he brought for them and water flowed out. 00:14:31.149 --> 00:14:35.340 Verse 42, he remembered His holy word to Abraham and brought them out with joy. 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:37.956 He gave them the lands of the Gentiles. 00:14:37.956 --> 00:14:39.491 He did all this. 00:14:39.491 --> 00:14:42.174 Let's remember that, folks. 00:14:42.174 --> 00:14:46.600 He did it. 00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:48.414 That's the point of this Psalm. 00:14:48.414 --> 00:14:51.916 That's why they want to praise Him. 00:14:51.916 --> 00:15:00.977 They can't escape the fact they are a people because of Him they didn't conjure all this stuff up. 00:15:00.977 --> 00:15:01.933 He led them. 00:15:01.933 --> 00:15:10.491 He made them a people as unlikely as all of it was, as many obstacles and hardships they faced. 00:15:10.491 --> 00:15:20.817 In spite of all their rebellion through the years, god kept His promise and made it happen and they are absolutely ecstatic. 00:15:20.817 --> 00:15:23.316 They're remembering this. 00:15:23.316 --> 00:15:24.793 It's all gone. 00:15:24.793 --> 00:15:28.498 What wonderful acts he's done. 00:15:28.498 --> 00:15:30.336 Breathtaking. 00:15:30.336 --> 00:15:32.875 He did all that for them. 00:15:32.875 --> 00:15:42.619 And interesting we serve and worship the same God. 00:15:42.619 --> 00:16:02.491 Remember that In 1993, the year I came, it was becoming painfully clear that we needed a new church building. 00:16:04.110 --> 00:16:09.381 We were renting Churchville Junior High and meeting in homes for Sunday school classes. 00:16:09.381 --> 00:16:10.432 We had no room. 00:16:10.432 --> 00:16:17.212 There's no really office space or meeting fellowship area. 00:16:17.212 --> 00:16:26.626 There's visiting families in the church would be asked to split up because they couldn't seat them all together. 00:16:26.626 --> 00:16:40.006 Just asked Bob Spezia, head usher, and Bob, who's here today, was reminding us all would you please move in and let other people in to the row? 00:16:40.006 --> 00:16:44.764 Honestly, it became. 00:16:44.764 --> 00:16:54.364 We realized what was happening was most people actually felt inhibited from inviting anybody to church because there wasn't any room. 00:16:54.364 --> 00:16:58.022 Now, that's not a good thing. 00:16:58.022 --> 00:17:06.482 So I'm telling you, a vision was born for a new building that would better help us serve Christ in this community. 00:17:06.482 --> 00:17:15.683 We broke ground for the new building in April of 2003, held our first service in here June 13, 2004. 00:17:15.683 --> 00:17:35.229 The amazing thing about it all those of you who are here and remember the body of Christ at West Sub not only committed to the vision, financially, sacrificially, generously many sacrificed their time and effort to build this building. 00:17:35.229 --> 00:18:00.358 We had almost 100% of the people at West Sub volunteering in different areas and helped us save hundreds of thousands of dollars in building costs and included electrical, plumbing, carpentry, drywall, painting, wiring, flooring, cleanup, making meals and a host of other things. 00:18:04.798 --> 00:18:10.520 And I'm telling you it may sound like we did it, we didn't, God did it. 00:18:10.520 --> 00:18:19.606 We are witnesses to God's miraculous and wonderful acts in our own church's history. 00:18:19.606 --> 00:18:26.782 We could write a Psalm 105b. 00:18:26.782 --> 00:18:35.864 We are witnesses the people he's brought to faith in Jesus here. 00:18:35.864 --> 00:18:41.467 The people, that whom God has changed here to become disciples of Jesus. 00:18:41.467 --> 00:18:43.638 The children who were taught here. 00:18:43.638 --> 00:18:46.384 The people he has healed here. 00:18:46.384 --> 00:18:52.505 The people he's brought through trials and persevered through them here. 00:18:52.505 --> 00:18:57.002 The missionaries and ministers we've sent out from here. 00:18:57.002 --> 00:19:02.085 The beautiful facility that we're enjoying he provided for us. 00:19:03.714 --> 00:19:05.220 I can't explain it any other way. 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:07.156 I cannot. 00:19:07.156 --> 00:19:09.518 We're too small. 00:19:09.518 --> 00:19:11.636 This shouldn't have happened. 00:19:11.636 --> 00:19:26.401 I'm going to refer to this later, but I want to read it to you now from Psalm 105, because I think this resonates with me a little bit. 00:19:26.401 --> 00:19:37.163 I'm going to talk to you about Israel's history giving them the land of Canaan verse 11 and verse 12. 00:19:37.163 --> 00:19:49.378 It says when they were only a few men in number, very few strangers in it, wondering. 00:19:49.378 --> 00:19:52.345 He made all of this happen. 00:19:52.345 --> 00:19:54.678 You know why God does that. 00:19:54.678 --> 00:20:06.626 He really loves to take the least likely with the fewest resources that just magnify Himself. 00:20:06.626 --> 00:20:08.461 Watch what I can do. 00:20:08.461 --> 00:20:11.008 That's what he did here. 00:20:11.008 --> 00:20:11.714 I really believe it. 00:20:12.297 --> 00:20:14.443 Now, what I want you to do, have a little fun here. 00:20:14.443 --> 00:20:19.864 Take a look at what God has done in giving us this wonderful place. 00:20:19.864 --> 00:20:25.674 Worship, as he replaced the old with the new. 00:20:25.674 --> 00:20:31.488 You're going to see the old situation first and then breaking into the new. 00:20:35.672 --> 00:20:53.845 All people right here, part of West Subb's church family, god's miraculous, wonderful acts tells us that God Himself is beautiful, wonderful, worthy of praise. 00:20:53.845 --> 00:20:59.162 We are witnesses that nothing is impossible with God. 00:20:59.162 --> 00:21:02.638 So today it is fitting we celebrate this. 00:21:02.638 --> 00:21:09.383 We too have become part of God's redemptive history through our faith in His Son Jesus. 00:21:09.383 --> 00:21:13.720 Think about how impossible it was for God to become human. 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:22.123 Think about how unlikely for God, the judge of all, to take our judgment on Himself. 00:21:23.631 --> 00:21:35.141 Think of how amazing God's grace toward us is in Jesus Christ, and how awesome it is for us to experience the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life. 00:21:35.141 --> 00:21:38.457 Isn't he wonderful, isn't he beautiful? 00:21:38.457 --> 00:21:42.915 Let it in, let Him in. 00:21:42.915 --> 00:21:49.321 It's one thing to think about these truths, it's another thing to actually experience them. 00:21:49.321 --> 00:21:51.935 But I should say, experience Him. 00:21:53.611 --> 00:21:59.150 You can only know how amazing God is when you let Him in by believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior. 00:21:59.150 --> 00:22:03.300 And if you've never done that, I invite you to do it as I close in prayer right now. 00:22:03.300 --> 00:22:07.253 Open your heart, say to Jesus I believe in you. 00:22:07.253 --> 00:22:08.356 You rose from the dead. 00:22:08.356 --> 00:22:09.759 You died for my sin. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:11.082 I invite you into my life. 00:22:11.082 --> 00:22:22.464 Let's pray, father, thank you today for your marvelous works which we are here have witnessed in our lives and the life of this church. 00:22:22.464 --> 00:22:40.583 I thank you for the many, many people who worked and sacrificed in obedience to you really to help build this facility which we pray will continue to be a light of the gospel and of Jesus in this community. 00:22:40.583 --> 00:22:48.204 We commit again to this, to you in our time of worship as we continue in Jesus' name, amen.