Sunday, December 10th, 2023 - 9am Contemporary Service Second Half - Peace in His Presence
First B Jackson
2023-12-10

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Like here we go. All your works will give thanks to you, Lord, and your godly ones will bless you. All your works will give thanks to you, oh, Lord, and your godly ones will bless you. Now I think that giving thanks, we know we're supposed to give thanks. You add gratitude.

It's the will of God for us in Christ Jesus. Yes, yes, yes. I know I'm supposed to be grateful. I'm not feeling really grateful about this though. We do that a lot.

You all ever seen the movie Shenandoah? We're not going to do it, Blake. But have you ever seen the movie Shenandoah? It's old 1965, it's a Western, Jimmy Stewart's in it. Jimmy Stewart sits down Thanksgiving prayer before they have a Thanksgiving meal and he says, Lord, I'm not going to do a Jimmy Stewart impression.

We cleared this land. We plowed it. We sowed it. We harvested it. We cooked the harvest.

Wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be eating if we hadn't done it all ourselves. We worked dog bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway, Lord, for the food we're about to eat, amen. There it is.

Cleared this land. We've

got That's the same. Of We can click through that, Blake.

We cooked the harvest.

That is the way that we think a lot of times. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Tell you what, my bootstrap's about to break. God will lift us up. The Lord is good to all, and his mercies are over all of his works.

All your works will give thanks to you, Lord. Your godly ones will bless you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom, and they will talk of your might. God is strong, and he can do things we can't do. To make known to the sons of mankind, long lay the world in sin and error, paining for, longing for the knowledge of God.

To make known this to the sons of mankind, your mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of your kingdom. He has called out what Brad talked about last week. He's called out a people from all peoples. And he brought them in and he made them into a a royal priesthood, chosen people, a people for God's own possession. He's making it known through the people who will speak out about him.

And the glory of his majesty of your kingdom. Your kingdom, Lord, is an everlasting kingdom. It's never gonna end. This is David. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

And your dominion, that is power, endures throughout all generations. Your power is always available. The Lord is faithful in his words. If God has said it, it can be trusted. This scripture that David wrote down by inspiration of the Holy Spirit can be trusted.

The Lord is faithful in his words and he is holy, completely set apart in all of his works. The Lord supports all who fall and he raises up all who are bowed down. Humble yourself before God and he will lift you up. He supports all who fall. I think of Jesus who was described as a smoldering wick he would not snuff out and a bruised reed he would not break off.

He's gentle. The Lord supports those who fall and he raises up those who are bowed down. The eyes of all, Lord, look to you. When it comes down to it, they look to you and you give them their food in due time. God is our provider.

You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. And don't we find fault with that? They have more than I have. I want that. No.

God opens his hand and blesses and satisfies the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways. And if you don't think that's true, then you're putting yourself above him. Does that make sense to you? The Lord is righteous in all of his ways, and he is kind in all of his works.

I don't understand how that can be, but I trust that it is. Lord, help me to know you better and understand you more. I don't understand how we can know just as we are known in heaven and not have any tears because when I look around, are a lot of things to be sad about. But Lord God, you are a deliverer and you are saving us out of that. The Lord is kind in all of his works.

The Lord is near. This is our verse. To all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth, he is ever listening for the call of faith and he always responds. Lord, help me. He responds.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth and he will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He will. He will also hear their cry for help and he will save them. David, looking forward to Messiah, looking forward to salvation. He knew the old covenant and he knew how to break it.

He knew the old covenant and he knew what it was like to have the Holy Spirit rest upon him, and he didn't want for that to ever be taken away. He wanted for everybody to know God that way, to be near to the heart of God. He also will hear their cry for help, and he will save them. The Lord watches over all who love him, and then this takes a turn. But he will destroy all the wicked.

That's a part of this. The bad news is a part of the good news. God is not mocked. Galatians says, do not be deceived. God is not mocked.

Whatever a person sows, if you're going to sow dissension, bitterness, strife, resentment, anger, ugliness, you're going to get it back multiplied. That's just the way that it is. But if you choose in the midst of the storm to look to God in humility and proclaim his mighty acts to yourself and to others. If you look at him and see, you know what, Lord, I don't understand how this is good, but I trust that you're turning it for good. I don't understand it, but I do trust you and I do love you.

God is not mocked. For if you sow to his own flesh or reap destruction from the flesh, the one who sows to the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. So let's not become discouraged in doing good. In due time, we will reap if we don't become weary. So then, while we have the opportunity, let's be doing good to all people.

Let's not just have to have them be exactly like us to be good to them. Let's be doing good to all people and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Now, closes with this. My mouth is emphatic. I made it a little bigger and little bolder.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. I have to tell myself that that's what I'm gonna do. David had to tell himself that that's what he's gonna do. He also had plenty of Psalms, right, that said, how long, oh Lord, will I wrestle with my thoughts? How long, oh Lord, will I have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemies triumph over me? But he always got back to, but I trust in your unfailing love. My heart rejoices that you save, Lord, from above. And you do it in a way I don't understand, but you're the one. I'm drawing near to you.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. That's what I'm going to do. If you don't have anything nice to say, mama would say, don't say anything at all. If you got breath in your lungs, praise God for it. And all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Every sin will be either mercifully forgiven or justly condemned. And that is the righteousness of God that says that. Amen. I'm gonna invite the ushers forward. We're gonna go kind of immediately.

I'll ask the band to come back up to into a time of communion. We practice an open table here. If you are a believer in Jesus, I don't care what stripe of believer you are, Baptist, Methodist, whatever, I don't care. If you trust in Jesus as being the saving one of God, then this is an open table for you. We're going to celebrate the life that Jesus lived out in the flesh by the representation of this little cracker that we're going to take in, representing the body of Jesus and then the blood sacrificially given, righteous for the unrighteous, once and for all.

We're going to do that with the cup. In Jesus' name, Lord, we ask you to bless this time of communion where we remember you, where we look to you as the merciful, slow to anger, compassionate God who does forgive sins. And we take this time right now, Lord, to say, we come before you falling short, and we ask you to build us up and make us in the way that you would have us to be. May we be malleable and moldable. We are the clay, Lord, and you're the potter.

Do what you will in us right now. Forgive us of our sins. In Jesus' name, would you bless this Lord's Supper. Jesus Jesus was betrayed, which tells you something right there. Same evening, he was being betrayed.

He said to his disciples who were gathered there with him. He said, this is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat and do it in remembrance of me And they did. May we do the same. Jesus, thank you for living that perfect example.

Thank you for having that perfect record. You lived each day humble to the spirit of God, serendipitously walking about and doing good for the kingdom of God, for our good, for your glory under the majesty of God. Lord God, thank you. We're so grateful. I thank you for the spilled, innocent blood that we're going to celebrate by now right now.

Lord, for everyone who would partake, I pray a blessing, but also for anyone who knows that they're not a believer in Jesus. They recognize that and they let the cup just pass on by. Lord, I pray that in this season, you would, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, working in lives of somebody sitting around them here today, I'll be able to speak a word that just clicks for them and makes makes the connection. May we, Lord, be about your business, and may everyone in this room come to know you. In Jesus name, I pray blessing over this.

Little representation, plastic cup full of grape juice. Lord Jesus, amen.

Child of weakness watching you, finding me right on the road. Jesus paid am. Sing I'd left a crimson stain, he washed in white as snow. And read before the throne, I stand in him complete. I'll lay my trophies down Jesus paid all

Just like you're taking the bread after supper, he took the cup and after giving thanks, he said, this is the new covenant in my blood. David was writing during the time of the old covenant and he knew how hard it was because it's on you in the old covenant. If you will do this, then I will do that but you know what? God is faithful to his people and he promised a new covenant coming and they were all waiting for it and Jesus was declaring it. No doubt about it.

When he said, this is the new covenant in my blood. You take this in. Take it in. This is a mighty act of God. Take it in.

And do it every time that you will in remembrance of me. Amen. Paul says that every time we do this, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. And his death means an end to sin, to the power of sin and darkness. Would you stand with me?

I think we're gonna sing the doxology. What do you wanna sing? I wanna sing the doxology. Doxology. Here we go.

Yeah. Alright. Join me in the doxology. Here we go. How about a g?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise father, son, and holy ghost. Amen.

Amen. May the Lord bless and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace in this season. Go in peace. Amen. Oh, they've got space for you down there.

Please go have some breakfast.