The Unfathomable Riches of Christ First B Jackson 2012-12-30 Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record. ---- Good morning, Firstbee family. How are you? If you're cold, just move in close next to the person by you. Alright. Well, why don't we stand together? We're gonna sing out anyway here. From Psalm one zero three five one through five says, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that's within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfied you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. Should we bless the Lord this morning? Your God, thank you for this beautiful morning. It's crisp and cool and God, I thank you for the beauty of the snow and for the wondrous moonlit night last night, God. We just praise you. We are in awe of you and we want to tell you about it, God. I pray that you would receive this praise this morning that it would be a fragrant aroma and God, I just thank you for the sounds of life among us. We are so so thankful for you and we want to show you lord. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Y'all can be seated for a minute and get all the rest you can this morning because we're going to be up and down and up and down. This is a fifth Sunday, the fifth Sunday of December and in the on the fifth Sunday of September, we did an all praise service and it was fairly well received. In fact, there are two things that I have not received any complaints about since I got here and one of em was the Sunday that I didn't preach and the second one was when we curve the chairs. Everybody like the curved chairs. So, we're going to curve the chairs back for next Sunday but this Sunday, we're doing a fifth Sunday singing and so please feel free to stand, sit, stretch your legs if you need to, wander about, that's fine but I want to read a few things. Are you appraiser? The biblical definition of praises. This is an offering to God as a sacrifice of praise from Hebrews 13. It is with the mouth out loud. No pressure. I'm not trying to put any pressure on you but I want to free you up. If you've all kind of sat there and you're just a little timid, I want to free you up. Enter into his courts with praise. I have not hid your righteousness within my heart. I have declared you, oh Lord. That's from Psalms. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Psalm one zero seven. Take with you your words. Render unto God the sacrifice of your lips from Hosea. Oh give thanks to the Lord. Let them say out loud. I will bless the Lord. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. It's just over and over and over throughout the Psalms. So, I'm going to try to free you up this morning. Feel free to praise God out loud. If you're not a singer, don't worry about it. You can say the words. If you're somebody who just is like looking for good, meaty sermon, there's plenty here. Plenty here. Contemplate the words of what it is that you're singing. Aaron is not here this morning. He's in California and he's do the guy who beats on the box, Aaron Howley, if you don't know him and sometimes in the middle of band practice, he'll just stop and say, man, think about what we're saying here. Do that. Think about what it is that we're saying and who it is we're saying it to here. So, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable in any way but we're just going to play a lot today. We've got Amy's going to be leading a few songs and Ryan will be leading a song and I'm going do a Mensajito, a little bitty message towards the end but please stand with us again and we'll go into the next couple of songs. Tyler, say hi. When I see the beauty of a sunset's glory, amazing artistry across the eagle sky. And when I feel the mystery of a disenkopsy, it all's and humbles me to be loved time just in silence to praise God, Lift him up. Prepare our hearts just to be with him this morning. From Psalm 63. You, God, are my God. Earnestly, I seek you, and I thirst for you. My whole being longs for you. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live. In your name, I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods. Singing lips, my mouth will praise you. God, may that be us. May we thirst for you, or we long for you, just desire to be with you. May the the words of our mouth, the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you. Reward with their fear for. It's no more awesome than I know. It's all of you. It's more than enough for in you is more than enough. There's none like you. Into the darkness shine. Doubt on who that she's realized. There's no one like you. There's none like you. Our God is greater. Our God is greater. Thank you, God, for being such a great God. I wanna just call on you this morning and and worship you and praise you. God give the adoration that you so deserve. Again, Lord, I pray that our hearts would be humble, that we would come before you God truly wanting to to just be with you and to praise you and to give you honor and to give you glory. In our lives, we get so busy, so caught up with stuff, and I pray that we just be able to you'd be able to clear the clutter right now so we can just be with you. Up our heads. If the joy of the Lord is a strength. We bow down and worship him now. How great, how awesome see. And together we say, holy is the Lord God If I could get the offering team to come down forward though. We're going to go into, we've been offering a sacrifice of praise. This is the time where we give back a portion of that which God has given to us. I'd like to pray for that. God, we thank you for this past year. I'm amazed lord with all the changes that you have brought about. God, I praise you for working out your will in our lives. We pray that we would always look to you and always trust you lord. We are not all going through happy and good, pleasant situations in life right now from the outside, lord, but we know that we can praise you in spite of our circumstances that we see and know that lord, when we can't trace what you're doing, we can't trust your heart and we can always give you praise. We ask you right now to receive this offering and to spread your gospel to this world through it. Lord, we don't know exactly how that works but as a church, we pray that you would show us the right places, the right times to place this in the hands of those who need it. Lord, that you would do your work through what we give back to you. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Good morning. Good morning. Yesterday morning, was I was just a lot of times I love to just lay in bed in the morning just before I get up for a while. I wake up really early and I just I just lay there and just let the Lord just start my day and just see if He has anything to say or anything He wants to do in my heart before I get up that morning. And yesterday, He just really struck me so deeply again with how intentional he is about us. I know. He's so intentional about his intimacy. From the very first moment of creation when he reached down and formed Adam and breathed into him, to the moment that he came down in the dark cloud and spoke to Moses, and then hid himself in the rock so Moses could kinda see a little bit, to what we're celebrating this week, his intentional message to us of love in the way that he humbled himself, stripped himself Amen. So intentionally to be intimate with us. And the amazing thing is it it didn't quit. It didn't stop when Jesus left the earth. He's still very intentional with us every day. He intentionally wants to walk each moment of your life with you. He intentionally wants to be a part of your dreams at night. He intentionally wants you to hear his voice, and and that just amazes me. It amazes me. And, so I'm going to do a couple songs. I think the words are going to be up there. You're welcome to sing, but you're also just welcome just to sit and just let Him, right now, speak to you. I mean, right now, that's what all of this is about, is to meet with Him, to encounter Him. This is just not about Him, and He's out there somewhere. He wants to be very much right here with us, speaking to us, and and ministering to our hearts, even if we don't have the words to say back to Him, just to sit and let him do what he does so well. So, we're gonna choose this. Of mountain paths by ancient maps. Straight to my heart you go to search and find beneath the surface of my soul must be brought forth by hidden foresight just the perfect hour Now come again and lead me back to quiet past your screen where hope believes and faith receives the depths of the earth and you hold in your hands oh my God oh yes the depths of my soul Amen. This morning, I wanted to share, I know it's past Christmas, but I wanted to share quasi Christmas song that talks about, how the angels long to look into the salvation that God's providing for us. And in first Peter one chapter one it talks about how the the prophets of old long to know what God had in store and and the angels long to to look into just the mysteries of of the gospel and and how God has prepared a way for us to have a relationship with him. And it talks this song just talks about the angels glorifying God. They never knew a dark night, always had the sun's light on their face. Perfect in glory, broken by the story of untold grace. Come that day. Majesty had come down. Glory had to come now to flesh and bone. In the arms of a manger, in the hands of strangers that could not know just who they hold. And the angels filled the sky all of heaven wondered why their king would choose to be be a baby born to die and all feel silent for the cry of an infant, the voice of God was dividing history for those with eyes to see the sun would shine from birth that night and the angels filled the sky all of heaven wondered why why the king would choose to be be a baby born to to break the chains of guilt and sin to find us here to so we can join in heaven's song and with one voice around the throne angels filled the sky I can't help but wonder why this king would choose to be be a baby born for me be a baby born the men's a little short message. I want to read from you all of Ephesians three. For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for the sake of you Gentiles. If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you, that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. The angels is what that song was talking about. This one goes even further than that. It's talking about the whole spiritual realm. Gentiles also think about this, means, nations, anything, any other nation, any other family on Earth except for the Jews. The Christ was to be born of the Jews just as the prophets had said and they knew that there was something about this but listen to the rest of this, which in other generations was not known. The mystery of Christ which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit. To be specific that the nations, our fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promised in Christ Jesus through the gospel. The gospel, as succinctly put as Paul ever put it and since this is immense, I hate though, I'll put it that way. The gospel from first Corinthians fifteen three and four. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also receive, received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried and that he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures. That's the gospel right there. Christ Jesus died for sins. There's no doubt about it. There's not something that we made up. We didn't come up with this. This is the way that it is and Paul was privileged to be there right at the beginning of this and he understood it. God made it very clear to him. In Ephesians, we think it was a very practical book and it is. Daily life type stuff but it also has a cosmic scope. Listen to the rest of this. That the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, fellow partakers in the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel of which I was made a minister. According to the gift of God's grace that was given to me according to the working of his power. To me, the very least of all saints. What a humble man. This grace was given to preach to the nations, the Gentiles, every family of the earth. Ethne. The unfathomable riches of Christ. That's what he's talking about. The unspeakable, the mystery, the unfathomable riches of Christ and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things so that the manifold wisdom of God, the variegated, the word is the same one where we get varied, variegated. The manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church. The mystery might be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in heavenly places. This is not just to the angels. It's not just to the peoples. This is to the whole spiritual realm, good and bad. Piper goes on and on about this being to the demons. We think about the demonic and we kind of shy away from it. It's the neglected middle. Those things where spiritual has an effect on the physical but when you're going through a hard time, you can really feel that but what Paul is saying is that God wants to make known his wisdom through the church, through those who believe. To the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus, our lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in him. Therefore, I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf for there your glory. For this reason, I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name that he would grant to you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit and the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you being rooted and grounded in love may be unable to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now, to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us. To him be the glory. In the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Let's stand up again. Just like this song is saying, let's let this be our prayer that God would would reign in us, that he would reign in our hearts. After he ascended into heaven, what did he promise us? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit to live in us, to reign in us. It's a power of God at work in us. You knew our names before we came to be. We saw them there and they would fall away from you. That you would reign in us. Spirit of living Amen. As we get ready to go here, let this be our prayer that, you know, where where God goes, that's that's where we're gonna go. Where he stays, that's where we're gonna stay. And when he moves, that we're gonna follow. When you move, I'll move. I'll follow. I will trust in you who know when you look. Where you go, I'll go. Where you stay, I stay. I'll follow you. Light unto the world. Light unto my life. I will live for you alone. For the one I see, knowing I will find all I need in you alone. How you serve, I serve. Because this life I lose, I'll follow you. I'll follow you. In you, there's life everlasting. In you, there's freedom for my soul. In you, I'll stay. When you move, I'll move. I'll fall on you. Whom you love, I love. How you serve, I'll serve. If this life I lose I'll fall on you May God bless you as you go this week. Have a very happy New Year. Be careful, safe, look out for those other folks too and I just want to pray a prayer blessing over you as you as you get ready to go. God, thank you for revealing yourself to us and God most likely the way that you've done it. It's always through your word but most likely the way you've done is through your church. Lord, as believers, as born again Christians, believing in you and your name, let us carry that gospel to others this week. Lord, if there's anyone here among us who does not know you, I pray lord that they would be open to your spirit's movement and that they would find someone and just ask em, what is this all about? God, we love you. We're thankful for you. It's in Jesus name that we ask your blessing on this crowd as we depart. Amen.