WEBVTT 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:04.959 Well, friends, we will be in Psalm 145. 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:09.199 If you do not own a Bible, feel free to use the Pew Bible in front of you. 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.400 And you can take that home with you if you do not own a copy of God's Word. 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:15.599 We want to make sure everybody has access to God's special revelation. 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:19.519 If you're not used to the Bible, the big numbers are the chapters, the little numbers are the verses. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:39.439 If you would like to follow along, but again, Psalm 145, we're going to take a break from the book of James because, in light of our anniversary and celebrating the gift of baptism, I thought, man, wouldn't it be good to just spend a Sunday just magnifying the greatness of God? 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:41.679 So that's what we're going to do. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:47.039 Psalm 145 is, if you didn't know, this was David's last recorded psalm. 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:53.039 As a matter of fact, in many of your Bibles, you might have a heading there that tells you it's a hymn of David. 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:58.399 This is a song David wrote to praise and exalt the glory of God. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:16.879 And it's his final recorded psalm, his last public confession we have in inspired scripture, which is fitting to, for our context, to understand the last psalm David wrote was one of just going all out for 21 verses, exalting the transcendent glory of his God. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:26.159 He spends his last ink magnifying God's character so that the next generation will not forget who God is. 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:36.239 Because, friends, this is important, forgetting God is deadly for our individual eyes as Christ followers, but even as a church. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:40.959 Churches rarely implode just out of nowhere suddenly. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:43.040 It's normally incremental. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:46.480 It's a slow leak, for instance. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:02:01.519 One forgotten praise at a time when people lose their awe of God, when they lose sense of their great, the greatness of God, so to speak, they end up settling for the smallness of man instead and replace God with lesser things. 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:08.159 And then that health, that culture of that church starts to corrode slowly and slowly over time. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:20.319 So what I want us to focus on this morning is this you must proclaim the greatness of God because his glory demands to be known and multiplied through you. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:28.080 You must proclaim the greatness of God because his glory demands to be known and multiply through you. 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:43.280 Psalm 145 keeps us from shrinking God down to our size, but rather it expands our hearts to see who God truly is so that we can declare him faithfully from one generation to the next. 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:51.439 So, what I want to do is to walk through these verses and give several reasons why you must magnify God. 00:02:51.680 --> 00:03:01.360 Starting with the first, verses one through seven, you magnify God's greatness because his character is unsearchable. 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:06.240 You magnify God's greatness because his character is unsearchable. 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:15.759 So looking down at Psalm 145, verse 1, I extall you, my God the King, and bless your name forever and ever. 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:18.080 I I just love that opening right there. 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:29.280 So King David, Israel's greatest king in history, says, I exalt you, my God, the king, recognizing who's the true sovereign ruler of all things. 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:31.680 Verse 2, I will bless you every day. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:34.400 I will praise your name forever and ever. 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:37.360 The Lord is great and is highly praised. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.400 His greatness is unsearchable. 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:47.919 One generation will declare your works to the next to the next and will proclaim your mighty acts. 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:49.439 Let's let's stop there. 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:55.280 Verse three, if you look down, verse three anchors the entire psalm, I believe. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:59.439 He says, Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:01.840 His greatness is unsearchable. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:08.319 He's saying the fact that God is the embodiment of greatness demands that he is greatly praised. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:15.360 We should attribute to a great God that which is great, because he demands it and he is owed it. 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:22.720 And I love there's certain language in the Bible that I believe, uh, or even language we use in our vernacular that should be reserved for God. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:28.079 Like when he says God is unsearchable, meaning you can't, you can't bother him out. 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:30.319 You can't exhaust everything about him. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:31.600 He is unsearchable. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:34.079 You can't master God, so to speak. 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:37.920 And when David is using this language, he isn't exaggerating, he's confessing. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:42.079 He's he's praising, he's bursting out in praise and doxology. 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:45.360 We cannot exhaust the greatness of God. 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:53.600 Think of it like this: imagine if you took the biggest coffee mug you have in your in your house or one of those, you know, what was the fad when everybody had those um tumblers? 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:54.160 Yeah. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:05:01.600 Imagine you went to a beach and you had the task to drink the entire ocean with the largest mug you could find. 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:06.480 You can start the task, but you will never reach the bottom of that task, will you? 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:10.639 Because the idea of being able to drink the entire ocean is unsearchable. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:11.439 It's impossible. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.480 You can never come close to its death. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:17.519 That is what God's greatness and glory is like. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:24.319 You can study the glory of God until you die, and you still will have understood a fraction of his character. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:32.560 He is infinitely powerful, he is infinitely wise, he is infinitely sovereign, he is infinitely good and merciful. 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:37.120 But here's the beauty of those of us made in God's image and those who walk with Jesus. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:42.240 Uh, theologians will use the phrase God's communicable attributes and incommunicable. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:50.399 Those are just fancy words for incommunicable or attributes that God does not share with us, uh, such as his sovereignty and his eternality. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:58.160 And then there's communicable attributes, meaning there are some attributes that we in a lesser fashion do reflect because we are made in his image. 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:06.560 But think about this: we reflect God, but any goodness, any attributes of God that we find in ourselves are borrowed. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.879 They don't originate with us. 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:20.000 So any goodness in us, whether it's love, whether it's mercy or kindness, whatever it may be, it's borrowed and limited because we are reflecting back what God is like. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:22.079 But that's not how it is with the Lord. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:29.360 His goodness, his faithfulness, his love, his holiness are all original with him and they are endless. 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:35.199 So what I mean by that is his immense glory runs through every attribute of God. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.360 So God is not like compartmentalized. 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:42.079 He's not 25% holy, 25% love, 25%, you know, justice. 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:46.240 No, he embodies every attribute holistically. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:07:04.399 Uh, this is why I love how uh Paul responds in Romans 11 to just the glory of God and his character when he says in verse 33, oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God, how unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways. 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:11.680 God's attributes are never fully exhausted, which means he is not, for let me give an example. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:14.560 God is not just wise, he is wisdom. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:17.680 God is not just loving, he is love. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:21.680 God is not holy in his character, he is holiness. 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:26.000 He's the embodiment, the standard of all of these things. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:39.360 Even as we live our Christian lives and we fall flat on our face and we sin, what convicts us when the Holy Spirit helps us understand how we have fallen short and reflecting the holiness and character of God, because he is the standard. 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:43.439 But this is our calling to speak like David. 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:51.040 Our calling is to declare what the next generation must not forget, which is a tremendous privilege, friends. 00:07:51.279 --> 00:08:04.079 I am all I'm the longer I'm a Christian, the more humbled I am at the reality that God, this magnificent God that David is praising, would choose to work through the means of broken sinners like you and I to accomplish his divine purposes. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:07.360 When he didn't need to, he desired to. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:14.959 So we have this privileged responsibility, every Christian in this room, to declare what the next generation must never forget. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:18.720 There's a dominant theme throughout the Bible of remembrance. 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:19.920 We've talked about this before. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:25.360 I think we neglect that in our culture because we're so worried about tomorrow, next week, I gotta, I gotta get to the next thing. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:32.159 In the Bible, there's a whole lot of, let's reflect on God's mighty acts on our behalf. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:38.320 And when we reflect, let's praise that God for all that he has done on our behalf. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:41.600 David is trying to do that. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.879 He's trying to, he's writing a song that people would sing. 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:48.080 This is why we we are very careful about the songs we sing here. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:57.919 We want to sing songs that are rich with biblical truth, like this verse, so that when we sing them, it's almost like we're all catechizing ourselves with gospel doctrine. 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:09.360 We're reminding ourselves of God's character, his faithfulness, what he's done, our sinfulness, his wrath, and justice, everything we can think of in scripture, we want to rehearse those things to ourselves. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:21.039 And as we do that, whether it's through singing, the ordinances, the preaching of God's word and prayer, all that we do is meant to take the glory of God and just lift it up. 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:34.240 Even when someone preaches, the goal should never be listen to me and think that I'm some gifted orator, but rather I'm just trying to like put a hand on your chin and lift your gaze up to the cross and to see more of the glory of God. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.360 Think of a microscope and a telescope. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:41.519 A microscope takes tiny things to make them look bigger than what they really are. 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:50.159 A telescope, rather, takes something that is unimaginably massive and brings it into a clearer frame of view so you can better understand it. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:52.080 That's what we're trying to do every Sunday morning. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:10:03.120 We're trying to take a unsearchable God and like a telescope, help us magnify him and see him for what he is worth and respond appropriately to what we find. 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:12.960 But look in what uh in verse four, where he emphasizes that one generation will declare your works to the next. 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:16.559 Notice, friends, that that is not that is not optional. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:23.279 David is not saying this is something we should think about and maybe give consideration if you have time and capacity and resources. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:28.960 He says, one generation will declare your works to the next. 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:30.559 This is not optional. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:32.879 It is the Christian mandate. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:48.720 Brothers and sisters, you are commissioned by God to make sure your children, your spouses, your friends, your fellow church members, everyone in your spirit of influence knows the wondrous works and the greatness of your God. 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:51.200 That is what you are here for. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:54.720 Not to pursue career, not to save up for retirement. 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:57.600 Those are all good things we should plan for this earthly life. 00:10:57.919 --> 00:10:58.720 We are here. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:00.480 That's why we say this every Sunday morning. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:02.639 We don't have some fancy church mission statement. 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:04.799 We take what Jesus said in the Great Commission. 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:10.879 We exist to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:14.960 One generation will declare your works to the next. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:31.200 One of the greatest evangelistic ministries we have as a church is happening down that hall right now, this Sunday morning, with those little kids, teaching those children, teaching them the truths of God so that they, when they grow up, can do the same and pass the baton of faith on and it goes on and on. 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:32.639 Why do we do this? 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:38.240 Why does David, why does inspired scripture tell us to remember and to pass on? 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:43.279 Because when a generation forgets the character of God, everything collapses. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:48.080 When a generation forgets the character of God, everything collapses. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:49.200 Don't believe me? 00:11:49.360 --> 00:12:01.279 We have several examples in the Bible, but I love Judges chapter two, where we see Joshua was faithful and all God has called him to do and leading the nation of Israel. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.679 But then we get this sad commentary on the nation. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:14.960 A whole generation rose up, according to the text, who did not know the Lord or the works he had done. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:16.559 That's sad. 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:18.320 Think about that. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:25.519 A whole generation of people did not know the Lord or the works he had done, but you're the Israelites. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:40.399 You have like the greatest testimony in history of God delivering your people over and over again by a mighty hand, and yet because some were not faithful to pass on the testimony of God's greatness and his mighty works to the next. 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:46.399 The text says, A whole generation did not know the Lord or the works he had done. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:53.360 Not because God has stopped working, but because God's people stopped declaring his works. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:57.200 I love how Paul puts this in 2 Corinthians 4 15. 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:16.240 He's talking about, you know, the various sufferings he has endured uh during his ministry, but he says this in verse 15 everything is for your benefit, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:21.840 This is one of my favorite passages for just a philosophy of ministry of why we do church the way we do. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:23.200 Why do we preach the word of God? 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:24.639 Why do we share the gospel? 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:25.440 Here's why. 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.600 For everyone's benefit, so that grace extends to more and more people. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:46.159 As we preach God's word, as we evangelize, the grace of God is extending to more and more people, which then leads them to come to faith in Christ, which then causes thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. 00:13:46.480 --> 00:14:03.519 Because when people transfer from darkness, from the dominion of sin, death, hell, and Satan to the family of God, that that does something to them called thanksgiving, where they praise God's glory and gratitude for what he has done. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:08.879 And then they want to tell everybody about what God has done, as they should, as David tells us this morning. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:14.080 And then other people here come to faith as grace has been extended to them in salvation. 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:20.240 And then in their thanksgiving, they give praise to God, and it goes on and it goes on and on and on. 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:22.879 Here's the trajectory. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.559 We who are faithful saints declare God's mighty works. 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:31.440 Grace spreads, thanksgiving rises, and God gets all the glory. 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:32.399 Pretty simple. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:35.200 So if you want to know how we should do church, here we go. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:44.879 Declare his works, he sovereignly spreads his grace, people come to saving faith, and thanksgiving rises, and God gets all the glory. 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:51.440 But God is not only unsearchably great, he is also abundantly good. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:15:00.159 Another reason we must magnify God is because, or rather, you magnify God's goodness because his grace holds you. 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:04.240 You magnify God's goodness because his grace holds you. 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.399 Let's let's jump in at verse 8. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:14.080 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great and faithful love. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:17.679 The Lord is good to everyone. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.200 His compassion rests on all he has made. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:23.519 All you have made will thank you, Lord. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:25.759 The faithful will bless you. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:39.120 Notice in verse 8, he's quoting from Exodus 34, which is one of my favorite Old Testament passages, just showing us God's character, that he is a gracious and compassionate God. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:40.240 Think about this, friends. 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:48.799 When Moses had this interaction with the Lord in Exodus, where he asked him, like, Father, show me your glory, and God's like, bro, you don't even know what you're asking for. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:49.679 You will die. 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:52.639 But here's what I'll do I'll let my goodness pass by you. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:56.399 But when God opens his mouth, think about this. 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:59.200 There's all kinds of ways God could have described himself. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:04.559 He could have chose to emphasize his wrath, he could have chosen to emphasize a host of things. 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:07.759 But this is what God chose to say to Moses. 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:17.600 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in faithful love. 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:23.039 When God chose to describe his own self, that's what he wanted to communicate. 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:29.919 I think that kind of flies in the face of all these accusations of, well, the God of the Old Testament is just anger and wrath and justice. 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:30.960 I don't know about that God. 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:33.440 Well, that's him speaking right here. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:38.799 And he's describing himself as a gracious and compassionate God who is slow to anger. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:46.240 But friends, moving on, your calling, our calling is to testify of God's goodness. 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:47.919 Look at verse 7. 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:50.559 Testify to God's goodness. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:59.279 He says, They will give a testimony of your great goodness and will joyfully sing of your righteousness. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:07.599 Friends, your lives, your testimonies, your stories, your words should carry the fragrance of God's kindness. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:18.880 We should be the biggest evangelists for the goodness and the kindness and the love and graciousness of God, especially since we have tasted his goodness and salvation. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:28.960 We should have our tongues just carrying this fragrance of, I just want to exalt the grace and love of my God for all that he has done. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:31.359 I don't care what your testimony is. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:39.200 If you live like the devil and got saved in your 30s or 50s, or if you grew up in a Christian household, it doesn't matter. 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:45.759 You were once dead in your sins and trespasses, but God showed you grace and mercy because that is his character. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:18:00.319 And that should lead you to let that mark your tongue that you share of God's goodness as this fragrance of kindness, whether it's your speech, your life, the stories you tell of God working in your life, that is what should come out. 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:07.920 And for those of us who maybe got saved later in life, maybe you can more vividly just have that experiential knowledge of God's goodness towards you. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:17.200 Because you can still remember your life before Jesus, how you were heading straight towards God's wrath, and yet he intervened and saved your soul. 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:21.279 Some of you were so close to hell, you still to this day smell like smoke. 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:24.960 But it reminds you of the goodness of God. 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:26.960 This is a very lengthy quote. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:35.839 I don't normally do this, but I would highly commend a book to you guys by a Puritan named George Swinock, uh, called The Blessed and Boundless God. 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:42.160 I just want to read this because he beautifully captures the graciousness and the love of God. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:49.039 Listen to this, and as you listen to what I read, I want you to picture God and how he saved you. 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:55.279 He says, God manifests wondrous grace in taking care of our temporal concerns. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:19:20.319 We would think it a great grace for a human king to take care of a poor beggar, to provide him with food, shelter, medicine, and safety, to supply him and all his needs, to support him and all his weaknesses, protect him in all his dangers, and deliver him in all his distresses, to spread his table, provide his food, clothe his body and make his bed, to protect him, counsel him, and assist him. 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:27.279 The King of kings, to whom all earthly kings are but dirt and dung, does more than this. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:32.799 He sends us food, shelter, and clothing, and makes them refreshing to us. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:42.240 He is with us in our goings and comings to keep us alive, enable us in our motions, relieve us in our needs, and defend us from all adversaries. 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:46.559 Is not his condescension worthy of all admiration? 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:57.920 Oh, what grace that the incomparable God, who has millions of glorious angels serving him, should serve poor worms like us. 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:04.799 This incomparable God manifests even greater grace in his care of our precious souls. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:08.319 Here he shows the exceeding riches of his grace. 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:18.160 It is, is it not grace in the highest degree for this perfect, self-sufficient, incomparable God to look on us? 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:30.319 When we were naked, restless, famished, wallowing in blood, grasping for breath, waiting for demons to escort us to the dungeon of darkness, God looked on us with favor. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:38.720 He clothed us with his righteousness, and satisfies with flesh that is meat indeed, and blood that is drink indeed. 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:48.000 He gave us rest in his bosom, he bound our wounds, raised us from the dead, and freed us from bondage to Satan, sin, death, and hell. 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:57.200 He adopted us as his children, accepted us as righteous, married us to his only begotten Son, and made us heirs of all things. 00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:13.119 He dwells in us by his spirit, carries us on eagle's wings, leads us through the wilderness of the world, and brings us to a heavenly Canaan, to fullness of joy, rivers of pleasure, crowns of life, and weights of glory. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:19.119 There we will reign in his incomparable majesty for all eternity. 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:21.680 What grace is this? 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:27.680 The incomparable God has no obligation to us, and he has no need of us. 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.559 He does not receive anything from us. 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:45.680 Moreover, he has all the reason in the world to destroy us, yet he is pleased to be as studious and solicitous of our welfare as if it were his own. 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:57.759 Yet he is pleased to be I'm sorry, it is not a w is it not a wonder that the incomparable God should wed himself to us. 00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.759 Friends, that is the greatest. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:01.279 Of God. 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:03.519 That is the grace of God. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:06.960 This is why I can understand why David in 2 Samuel 7 responds. 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:13.519 The text says, He sat in the Lord's presence and said, Who am I, Lord God? 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:17.440 What is my house that you have brought me this far? 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:22.240 That should be our heart posture towards an infinitely holy God. 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:27.359 The more you understand God, the better you understand yourself, right? 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:31.839 The more you understand God's holiness, you're reminded of your weakness and sinfulness. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:38.000 The more you understand God's love and grace, the more you recognize I am not as loving and gracious as I should be. 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:46.960 But that doesn't lead you to just gaze inwardly and in depression, in spiritual depression, but rather to say, why was such a great God? 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:48.960 Move an inch towards me. 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:55.119 I don't have an answer other than the blood of Christ, which I plead, which gives me access to him now as my father. 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:56.720 And that is where I stand. 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:00.640 I love that language in Romans 5 where Paul talks about the doctrine of justification. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:02.079 He says it's a standing. 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:08.160 We stand in a new standing with God because of the crosswork of Jesus Christ. 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:20.480 I love how uh my man ended here where he says, Yet he is pleased to be as studious and solicitous of our welfare as if it were his own. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:31.440 If you ever question God's love towards you, just know he pours out all of his spiritual resources upon his children as if he's pursuing his own spiritual welfare. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.880 That's how committed he is to your spiritual flourishing friends. 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:40.960 And this good this goodness I'm highlighting isn't confined to just one generation. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:47.200 It's meant to overflow until the earth is full of the knowledge of God's glory. 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:52.000 Which brings me to another aspect of why we should magnify God's glory. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:57.279 You magnify God's kingdom because his glory must cover the earth. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:01.680 You magnify God's kingdom because his glory must cover the earth. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:05.440 Look down at verse 11 through 13. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:16.720 David says, They will speak of the glory of your kingdom and will declare your might, informing all people of your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:20.960 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, your rule is for all generations. 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:28.079 The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his actions. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:32.799 Now we see God's character is glorious and sovereign. 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:39.279 Just notice how you just go down these verses, and David is just focusing on different attributes of God. 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:45.440 And notice if you go back to verse one, notice this pattern of him weaving in and out of the singular and the plural. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:49.279 He starts out, I exalt you, my God and king, and bless your name forever. 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:52.160 I will bless you every day, I will praise your name. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:59.119 And then down he goes in uh verse six, they will proclaim, verse seven, they will give a testimony. 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:01.039 This is corporate language, isn't it? 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:10.559 He's like, I individually will praise God for all that I've seen him do, but we as a follow as followers of Christ corporately will do the same in singing his praises. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:17.680 And verses 11 through 13 emphasize the sheer weight of God's sovereign rule over the cosmos. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:33.119 The greatest empires of history, whether it's Rome with its unmatched power and Babylon with its towering wealth, both rose and fell and are now found in our history books and reduced to ruins. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:39.119 America is the so-called greatest nation in the world, and one day we too will be a footnote in history. 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:43.119 But there is one kingdom that will never be reduced to ashes. 00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:56.880 There is one kingdom that all the history books should be about, and that is God's kingdom because only his kingdom will outlast all earthly kingdoms because it is everlasting, it is unshakable, and Jesus is its king. 00:25:57.039 --> 00:26:05.759 His kingdom is majestic, his kingdom is powerful, his kingdom is transcendent and filled with grace and mercy. 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:10.400 And we never, for those of us who belong to God's kingdom, we never have to fear of our safety. 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:15.839 We never have to fear, well, will we be, will God's kingdom be invaded one day and maybe we lose and we lose all our liberties? 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:17.920 Nope, friends, it doesn't work that way. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:20.319 There's no election cycle with God. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:22.480 He's not looking for any running mates. 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:25.359 He's not trying to get a party's vote or endorsement. 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:31.039 He doesn't have any rivals, he doesn't have any term limits, he doesn't have any peers. 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:36.559 He reigns from age to age, and he doesn't need your vote and never asked for it. 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:43.200 I love how Habakkuk 2.14 says this is where all of human history is headed, friends. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:51.359 The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord's glory as the waters cover the sea. 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:57.279 So we need to talk about, like we were in Ephesians, we talk about spiritual warfare. 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:00.799 We know that there's an enemy, the devil's real and his fallen angels. 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:07.440 They're trying to thwart God's gospel from advancing, and they're gonna work on and on until the Lord returns. 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:31.839 But according to God's inspired word, no matter their efforts, no matter the efforts of those who oppose God and his word, whether it's our culture, other countries, I don't care what it is, God says, one day, this is a promise, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord's glory as the waters cover the sea. 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:41.359 Whether that's those praising God as their Savior, or those who will know the Lord through his eternal wrath and justice. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:50.160 And the good news is this the God who reigns over creation is also the God who draws near to the faint-hearted. 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:55.839 He is not this majestic guy who just wants to stay away from his creation, his people. 00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:58.400 He longs to have fellowship with us. 00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:01.359 Just think about this single chapter we're looking at this morning. 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:11.119 We know all these things about God because he chose to reveal them generously in a book called the Bible so that we can know his heart and his character. 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:16.559 Psalm 145 is like the anthem of that prophecy I read in Habakkuk. 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:20.720 God's glory spreading through God's people who declare God's greatness. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:25.839 God's glory spreading through God's people who declare God's greatness. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:33.839 So a good barameter for all of us today is how consistently are you declaring with your mouth and your life the greatness of God? 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:39.279 Because it is a privilege to be used by the Lord to communicate his truth. 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:51.599 Every last one of you in this room, if you're a Christian, came to faith by Jesus working through the means of his spirit illuminating his gospel, his word, which likely came from the mouth of somebody else. 00:28:51.839 --> 00:29:00.799 Somebody else in your life who chose to obey the Lord and enjoy, open their mouth and declare God's works in the gospel to you. 00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:19.279 And because they did that, the Spirit illuminated his truth to your heart, convicted you of your sin, brought you to saving faith, made you a new creation, a new creation, I mean, demonstrating God's glory, spreading through God's people, declaring God's greatness. 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:24.400 I've shared this before, but you know, there's several things I'm looking forward to on the new heaven and the new earth. 00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:43.119 After I meet Jesus and ask him all my questions, I want to know: is there gonna be like a theater somewhere we can go to and we can just type in whatever we want and just see like a visual of like Lord, show me when I came to faith, show me the like the domino effect all the way back to like your earthly ministry. 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:53.440 So show me how the person who shared the gospel with me came to faith, who shared it with him or her, and then go back and go back all the way to the New Testament. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:30:03.839 Because that's how God has chosen to advance his kingdom through his people, declaring his works, so that people come to faith in Christ, and God's glory is magnified. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:09.359 And this is our privilege, this is our calling to proclaim the majesty of our King. 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:17.359 God's people speak of the glory of God's kingdom and make known his mighty acts, as David says. 00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:22.640 And the good news is this God wants to work through you and me. 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:36.400 I don't care how weak of a Christian you might think you are, I don't care how mature or immature you think you are as a Christian, if you can read and understand and comprehend the gospel and in faith open your mouth, God can use you. 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:38.799 And God wants to use you. 00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:42.240 If he can use a donkey, there's hope for all of us, friends. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:55.839 But my next point, verses 14 to 21, friends, you magnify God's nearness because his faithful, because he's faithful, and because his hand sustains you when you fall. 00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:01.759 We magnify God's nearness because he is faithful, and he sustains us when you fall. 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:04.000 Verses 14 through 21. 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:11.599 The Lord helps all who fall, he raises up all who are oppressed. 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:16.640 All eyes look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:21.599 You open your hand to satisfy the desire of every living thing. 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:26.160 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all his acts. 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:33.359 The Lord is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity. 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:34.640 Let's stop there. 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:36.799 Let me just highlight a few things. 00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:41.759 Verse 14 The Lord doesn't just help those who help themselves. 00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:47.839 The Lord doesn't help those who are most worthy of his help. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:50.720 The Lord helps all who fall. 00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:54.960 He raises up all who are oppressed. 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:57.680 I love the language here in verse 16. 00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:01.359 You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:04.880 Friends, the Bible shows nothing but the heart of a generous God. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:06.559 Go back to the garden. 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:07.359 Do you know? 00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:09.440 Fact-check me on this, be a good Berean. 00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:16.319 The first commandment given from God to man, to Adam and Eve, was one of generosity and abundance. 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:20.960 He told them to essentially enjoy all that he created for them. 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:22.720 That was the first commandment. 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:25.440 Enjoy all that I have created for you. 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:27.359 Just stay away from one thing. 00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:31.279 And of course, that one thing was the one thing they desired. 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:38.480 But God's character is near, he is tender, and he is attentive to his people. 00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:40.960 These verses show his care. 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:09.440 Picture I think sometimes we we view our Christian walk as I'm confident that I'm a mature Christian and that God loves me and I have his favor. 00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:18.880 As long as I'm doing a great job of clinging firmly to Jesus, as long as I'm working hard and I'm clinging to Christ and I have confidence, yes, God loves me. 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:23.519 He hears my prayers and he's gonna bless my life because I am doing a good job. 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:28.720 But the more I'm a Christian, I would say it's more like a father helping his toddler learn to walk. 00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:39.200 When a dad grabs his child's arms and is helping them, trying to teach them to walk, and that child's all both bow-legged, struggling, stumbling, taking a couple of steps. 00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:44.640 And that child might think, I'm I'm scared, I'm gonna fall and hurt myself. 00:33:44.880 --> 00:33:54.319 But what that little child doesn't know is no, you're secure, not because of how well you're gripping onto your dad's hands, but because of how firmly your dad is holding on to you. 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:57.039 That is that is the Christian life, friends. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:01.599 It's not about how good of a job we're doing and holding on to Jesus. 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:07.920 No, church, your Christian life isn't held together by your grip on God, but by God's grip on you. 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:25.679 Which is why we can talk like David in Psalm 145 when we look at our own life, just the past three months, and look at all the ways we have failed God and failed others and poorly reflected his character, and yet we can still stand here this Sunday morning and say, and despite all those failures, I'm a child of God. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:27.360 I am justified. 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:29.920 None of those things communicate my identity. 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:30.639 He does. 00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:44.800 And the fact that in the courtroom of heaven, he has declared me eternally justified and forgiven, giving me a new standing with him, where he goes from a God who's going to pour out his wrath on me to my heavenly Father. 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:49.679 Your Christian life is based on God's grip on you. 00:34:50.480 --> 00:35:00.239 Now, this is a perfect moment, I think, to bring these truths in Psalm 145 to bear on our story as a church family and on celebrating the ordinance of baptism. 00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:09.679 As we celebrate three years as a church, this is just to humble all of us, this is in no way, shape, or form a celebration of our strength in any way, shape, or form. 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:13.280 We don't celebrate Redeemer is some great, strong church. 00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:19.440 It's a celebration of the character of God displayed through weak people, through the weakness of his people. 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:24.239 We, God is great, we are small and finite. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:27.440 God is all powerful, we are not. 00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:28.960 We are fragile. 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:33.119 God is faithful and we are often forgetful and faithless. 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:36.159 God is sovereign and we all know we are not. 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:37.599 We are limited. 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:42.800 God is worthy of all praise, and you and I are but dust and ashes. 00:35:43.119 --> 00:35:46.800 God is self-sufficient and we are desperately needy. 00:35:47.360 --> 00:36:00.320 This is Paul's point in 2 Corinthians 4 7 when he says, We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:08.239 Whenever we see something in the life of our church that brings joy to our hearts, we should say what Paul just said. 00:36:08.639 --> 00:36:15.280 Lord, we just we we should um we should be always committed to transferring the glory, so to speak. 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:20.000 Like whenever the Lord uses you to do something, like we should be very careful with our language. 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:22.239 You know, it's like, oh yeah, I led this person to Jesus. 00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:23.119 No, you didn't. 00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:25.039 You didn't lead nobody to Jesus. 00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:26.559 You just share the gospel. 00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:29.199 God led somebody to Jesus through you. 00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:33.280 We have to be careful and make sure we are always transferring the glory. 00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:39.039 That's why I'm like, I bless y'all's hearts when sometimes you encourage me about a sermon or something, and I'll just instantly say, you know what? 00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:41.679 All glory to God for using his word to minister to his people. 00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:46.000 Because I want to guard my heart from any kind of pride of, like, yeah, I did do a good job, didn't I? 00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:46.719 You know? 00:36:47.039 --> 00:36:50.480 No, we transfer the glory because we have this treasure. 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:51.679 And I love that language. 00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:53.440 Paul says it's a treasure. 00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:55.360 Like, this is the Christian's joy. 00:36:55.440 --> 00:37:03.360 It is, we have this treasure and jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:10.880 So we should be known as a church body where people might see evidence of God's grace working in our in our fellowship. 00:37:11.039 --> 00:37:12.880 And we just say, isn't that crazy? 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:13.760 Because we're all dumb. 00:37:13.840 --> 00:37:14.800 We don't know what we're doing. 00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:16.320 We're all broken sinners. 00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:20.320 All glory be to God, because there is no way we did that on our own. 00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:22.159 There must be a God. 00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:25.519 As a church, we've gone through a whole lot in three years. 00:37:25.599 --> 00:37:29.280 It's actually kind of ironic to think this three years, if to me, it feels like seven. 00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:34.239 But we have not survived because we grip to God tightly. 00:37:34.320 --> 00:37:37.119 We have survived because God has gripped tightly on us. 00:37:37.360 --> 00:37:42.079 When we reflect on three years as a church, here's five things we can praise God for. 00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:44.159 Number one, he has upheld us. 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:49.519 When I look at verse 14, the Lord helps all who fall, he raises up all who are oppressed. 00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:52.000 We've seen that God has given us growth. 00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:55.199 And I'm not just referring to numerical growth, even though praise God for that. 00:37:55.280 --> 00:38:01.119 We want to help as many people worship the Lord because he gets more glory, but I'm talking about spiritual growth. 00:38:01.280 --> 00:38:06.960 When Paul in 1 Corinthians says, I planted Apollos' water, but God gave the growth. 00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:13.039 So then neither one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:20.800 It has been a great joy to see how many people the Lord has brought to this church family and who have just fallen in love with God's word and have grown. 00:38:20.880 --> 00:38:26.000 And we've seen the fruit of the Spirit working in their lives, and we just praise and rejoice with you. 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:31.039 We have also seen and we can praise God for how He has guarded us as a church. 00:38:31.280 --> 00:38:42.719 If someone gave me a blank check and said, Cameron, write the story of Redeemer, however you would like it to go, I would say it has not remotely gone any way I have planned, other than we were going to preach the Bible and love whoever came. 00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:51.519 But God has providentially led us, protected us, and strengthened us, which is a fourth reason we can praise God because He has strengthened us. 00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:56.639 We have experienced immense suffering and brokenness since we started this church. 00:38:56.880 --> 00:39:06.880 We have seen loss, miscarriages, people lose family members, people be sinned against, all the byproduct of living in a fallen and broken world. 00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:27.519 And yet, every last one of you are still standing saying, My God is a good God, and I will forever praise his name because he has subjugated our hardships to strengthen our resolve in following him and to deepen our love of who God is, and to grow our experiential knowledge of his love. 00:39:27.920 --> 00:39:31.440 But we could also lastly praise God, and I can go on all morning. 00:39:31.679 --> 00:39:41.679 We can praise God for sustaining us through conflict, pain, joy, and change, showing that God is sovereignly building his church. 00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:44.239 And we, this is how I think about God's providence. 00:39:44.480 --> 00:39:50.239 God is writing the story of every last one of our lives, and we just get the joy of just being on the journey. 00:39:50.480 --> 00:39:53.760 You should just wake up and say, God, I'm ready for today's episode. 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:55.440 I don't have the script. 00:39:55.920 --> 00:40:03.920