Your Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom

[0:00] St. John's Shaughnessy Church In the last century, A.W. Tozer complained aloud of something that he thought was a problem in the evangelical church.

[0:47] And I want to quote from his book titled Worship. It says, Worship is the missing jewel in modern evangelical church.

[0:58] We are organized. We work. We have our agendas. We have almost everything. But there is one thing that the churches, even the gospel churches, do not have.

[1:14] That is the ability to worship God. We are not cultivating the art of worship. It is the one shining gem that is lost to the modern church.

[1:26] And I believe we ought to search for this until we find it. End of quote. After reading that a few days ago, I felt very guilty.

[1:41] And probably some of us here are already feeling guilty. That is not the point of the sermon. But there is some truth in that. That one of the things that we lack in our present day is not a lack of programs and ideas and management techniques.

[2:00] It is actually a lack of the genuine worship and praise of God in all its fullness. And I think part of the reason for this lack of genuine, truthful, powerful worship of God has to do with our lack of knowledge of who God is and the mighty works of God himself.

[2:23] When we encounter God in his greatness, when we encounter God in his power, when we encounter God in his majesty, our lives and our worship will be different.

[2:39] We still have our liturgies and we continue to have our revised alternative liturgies. But one thing that will be different is that the worship of God will transcend our puny, disobedient liturgies.

[2:57] When you and I see that God is not just God of the Christian religion. That God is the King of Kings.

[3:11] That God is the Lord of Lords. The casualness with which we worship him will disappear in a second. And we will respond to God in true, genuine worship.

[3:27] Now this, I think, is what we find in the life of David, the writer of this psalm. David came to a place in his own spiritual life that he realized that the God that he worshipped was not just the God that he saw in the temple.

[3:45] It was not just the religious God that was worshipped all over the Mediterranean. He came to the understanding that this God is his God, he says, my God, and not only is God his God, but this God is the King.

[4:04] And that makes a great difference. Your God and my God, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is our God and he is our King.

[4:17] And he is not just our King as Christians, he is the King of the universe. When David came to this full realization of the greatness of God's kingship, he made a wonderful resolution.

[4:33] In verse 1, he says, I will extol thee, my God and King, and I will bless thy name. In verse 2, he says, I will bless thee and praise thy name.

[4:48] That's the logical conclusion of what happens in the life of a man and a woman who comes to see God that is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. I will extol thee, I will exalt thee, I will raise up your name, oh my God and King, and I will bless you.

[5:09] For when? When is he going to do this? Every single day of his life. Verse 2, Every day I will bless thee. In the midst of prosperity and sorrow, in the midst of trouble, David says, I will bless thee every single day because I know who you are.

[5:30] You are my God and my King. And for how long is he going to do this? He says, Forever and ever in verse 1. In verse 2, Forever and ever I will bless God.

[5:45] This is what the revelation of the scriptural God brings into our lives. We come to a place of resolving in our hearts to praise him and to worship him and to exalt him in time and in eternity.

[6:03] And it's not just David that is extolling God and blessing the name of God every day and forever. If you look at verse 4, it says, one generation shall lord thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts.

[6:21] David is involved in the blessing of God but also generations upon generations proclaim the mighty works of God to other generations.

[6:33] And this is why it is important that our present generation takes a hold of who God is because it is when we take hold of God in accordance with biblical revelation that then we can proclaim this true God to other generations.

[6:53] So part of the praise of God is the individual extolling God to God and extolling God, exalting God as we speak to other people.

[7:06] Praise is not just one dimensional or vertical it is horizontal as we speak to other people about the mighty works of God and about the greatness of this God as revealed to us in the Holy Bible.

[7:22] One generation will proclaim God's work and the mighty acts of God to other generations. And in verse 10 we also discover it's not just David it's not just generations proclaiming the mighty acts of God in verse 10 all thy works shall give thanks to thee O Lord and all thy saints shall bless thee.

[7:49] God's creation nature in itself all of God's work join in the praise of God in their being and in their well being.

[8:01] And that's why when we look at the mountains and we look at the things around us we can see the beauty of God's creation and we can raise our voices in praise unto God because those things that are created by God proclaim by their existence and by their beauty of the wonderful power and character of God himself.

[8:23] The whole creation proclaims the greatness of God. The whole creation in their being proclaims the majesty of God. God is great even as we look at nature itself.

[8:37] And all of God's saints the Bible says shall bless him forever and ever. And I think this is the biblical purpose for our creation and our redemption and our sanctification and preservation and glorification.

[8:56] Paul writing to the church in Ephesus wrote in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 12 saying to them that God has destined us to the praise of his glory.

[9:10] You and I have been created by God all of nature have been created by God and redeemed by God and sanctified in order to live for the praise of God's glory.

[9:24] That is the point of our creation. it's completely different from what the culture around us believes. We are created for ourselves, we live for ourselves, and the goal of our lives is to proclaim the praise of the glory of humanity.

[9:43] But God has created me and created you and redeemed us from our sins and sanctified us and is leading us into glory for eternity for the praise of the glory of God himself.

[9:59] And this is the truth for you, it is the truth for me, and it is the truth for all cultures from eternity to eternity.

[10:11] And here is the problem. We all know that God has created us to praise and worship him. God's to share this glory with other people as we proclaim it through the words of evangelism.

[10:41] And so what is it about God himself, what is it about God's kingship, that actually excites this kind of resolution that we find in Psalm 145?

[10:52] What is it about God that makes generations to proclaim the works of God to another generation? What is it about God that makes all his works give thanks to God and bless his holy name?

[11:06] What is it about God that moves us to praise of God himself? I want to point out three things in this passage that the psalmist points his finger to as to what led him to the praise of God.

[11:25] The first has to do with the greatness of the king. David's God, David's king, is a great king.

[11:36] Look at verse 3. Great is the Lord, great and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable.

[11:48] The God that you and I have gathered together this morning to praise and to worship is not just any God. He is a great God.

[12:02] And because he is a great God, the psalmist says, greatly to be praised is this great God. In other words, a great God deserves a great praise.

[12:16] And what does it mean for God to be great? The psalmist says his greatness is unsearchable. Human intellect, human understanding, human reason and tradition cannot fully understand the greatness of God.

[12:34] And this is why God has given us a revelation of his greatness in scripture. As we read the word of God, we find that God is great in his words and in his covenant.

[12:46] God is great in the fulfillment of his covenant promises. God is great in his wonderful and mighty deeds. God is God who is ever present in the lives of his people and in his creation.

[13:01] God's power, God's greatness is stamped all over creation and all over the things that he does. He is not absent. God is not the God of the gaps.

[13:14] God is ever present in his creation and continues to rule and guide his creation. In Christian theology, we talk about a God who is infinite, a God who is omnipotent and omnipresent and omniscient.

[13:32] God is all of that and much more. And that's why he says his greatness is unsearchable. By using human intellect, we depend on the revelation of God given to us in Holy Scripture.

[13:48] Now, one of the issues that we have to deal with in our 21st century is that we are a scientific and computer culture. And what that means is if we need to search out something, we go to the scientists, we turn on our computer, and put greatness of God, and you search.

[14:12] And it gives you everything about it. And the problem that that creates is that what you cannot search out in modern scientific culture and computer culture, you dismiss.

[14:26] It's irrelevant. If it is relevant, the computer will have all the relevant materials on it, because the computer has not much to say about the greatness of God, we dismiss it. But what David is saying here is that it is actually the unsearchable greatness of God that evokes confidence, that evokes faith and praise and adoration of God.

[14:52] As John Calvin said, it is not a subject for speculation, it is a subject for adoration. God is great and wonderful.

[15:05] And of course, you begin to have a glimpse of the greatness of God when you look at verse 5. He says, On the glorious splendor of thy majesty and on thy wondrous works I will meditate.

[15:20] I would need some help in understanding what that means. what is the glorious splendor of the majesty of God? I read a number of commentaries, I think about ten, and at the end of the day, I could not completely figure out what the glorious splendor of God's majesty is.

[15:42] I know it talks about the beauty, it talks about the brightness of the majesty of God, but what does that mean? And I spoke to David as I was coming up this morning before the service, and he tried to give me some ideas, but there wasn't enough time.

[16:02] But the point here is that God is so great and so majestic, that the writer of this psalm piles words upon words. God is glorious.

[16:13] God's majesty is full of splendor. It is full of beauty. It is full of brightness. It is full of the sovereign purity and sovereign holiness and sovereign majesty of the Lord God of hosts.

[16:27] God's majesty is made manifest in his power and in his great might and in his holiness. It is the glorious splendor of his majesty. God is a great God.

[16:43] And that's why the psalmist says, I will meditate. In verse 5, I will meditate on his wondrous works in order to understand the glorious splendor of his majesty.

[17:01] I was reading this week an article titled Reorganization of Consciousness. Clinical studies on computer compulsives has brought to light certain things that we need to be aware of.

[17:19] Computer compulsives are intolerant towards people who are meditative and reflective. They do not like ambiguity. They do not like tangential thinking.

[17:33] They prefer a yes and no answer. And they are a bit short with spouses and children. Now, David says, I will meditate on the wondrous works of God.

[17:47] In other words, for us to fully begin to understand the greatness of God's majesty calls for meditation in the word of God. It calls for spending time in the presence of God as we submit ourselves to his divine revelation.

[18:04] And the big question that you and I face is can we meditate? in the wondrous works of God. Is it possible in our computer age? Secondly, David says that the thing that excites his resolution to praise the name of God and generations as well as the works of God has to do with the kingdom of the king.

[18:28] The king is great, but his kingdom is wonderful. David, as the king, knows what it means to be a king. He knows what kingdoms are all about.

[18:40] I have met other kings and seen other kingdoms. But the wonderful thing about the kingdom of God is that it is a kingdom that is not limited. It is a kingdom that encompasses the cosmos, all of God's creation.

[18:58] The glory of human kingdoms are for a time, but the glory of God's kingdom is forever and ever. He says in verse 13, thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations.

[19:20] The kingdoms of this world rise and fall, the kings and authorities of this world rise and fall, but the kingdom of God, the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a kingdom that is everlasting.

[19:35] It never ends. It will last forever and ever. And his rule, his authority is an authority and rule that will continue from generation to generation.

[19:49] And this is why the goal of history, the divine goal of history, is that God, who is the eternal king, will bring everything in this world, all through the generations, under his dominion and rule in the person of Jesus Christ.

[20:05] There is no escape. God is the God of the kingdom. His kingdom will never fall. His kingdom will last forever and ever under the rule of his son, Jesus Christ.

[20:20] And here is the gospel message. The gospel message says that God's kingdom, in its fullness and in its reality, has come in the person, in the death, in the resurrection, in the ascension of Jesus Christ.

[20:35] And God's invitation for us, to us, regarding this kingdom, is to come and participate in the reality of this rule of God.

[20:47] And the huge question is, will you be part, or will you participate in that kingdom? Our proper response to God's invitation to be part of this everlasting kingdom, and to be part of this dominion that endures forever and ever in the person of Jesus Christ, is to fear him, to believe him, to submit to him, to praise and bless him forever and ever.

[21:15] That's the call that God has on our lives. Thirdly, what is it that excites resolution to praise God? God, it is the character of the king.

[21:28] God, in his essence, is great. God's kingdom is unique. It is everlasting. It is full of splendor and holiness and sovereignty. It endures forever and ever.

[21:42] But the great thing about this king is that in his greatness and in his majesty, he is righteous and gracious and compassionate and merciful.

[21:54] My experience of kings, especially in Africa, is that the more powerful they become, the more ruthless they become. The more majestic and glorious their kingdom, the more ruthless they actually become.

[22:12] By contrast, God who is our king, God who is great and majestic, is our God who is gracious compassionate and kind.

[22:24] I want you to look at verse 7. It says, They shall pour forth the fame of thy abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

[22:36] The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all and his compassion is over all that he has made.

[22:49] what a wonderful God our God is. He is gracious and merciful to you and to me. He is slow to anger in our sin when we disobey him.

[23:02] When we are in need, God is gracious and merciful. And we've seen the manifestation of God's grace in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[23:14] You and I have experienced the manifestation of God's grace and mercy in our individual lives. God has been great to you and to me. God is good.

[23:25] He is a gracious God. From verses 14 to verse 20, the psalmist begins to give us examples, instances of God's graciousness and God's mercy and God's compassion.

[23:41] He says in verse 14, the Lord upholds all who are fallen and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to thee and thou giveest them their food in due season.

[23:55] Thou openest thy hand, thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is just in all his ways and kind in all his doings.

[24:07] Those are manifestations of God's graciousness in our grief, in our adversity, encounter with the power of sin and death and the power of evil.

[24:20] Sometimes we are knocked down. And what does God do? He does not abandon us in our fallenness. He raises us up. He lifts us up. And we can trust him for that.

[24:32] And he opens his hands and gives to all what they need. He is the God that answers the prayers of those who call upon him in sincerity and faithfulness.

[24:47] But there is a side of this kingdom, of this graciousness that cannot be ignored. Look at verse 20. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

[25:02] The God who is great, the God whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, the God who is gracious and merciful and compassionate is a God who will not ignore our repentant wickedness.

[25:20] God is a God of justice and righteousness and when he gives men and women the wicked to turn and receive his forgiveness and they continue in disobedience, God, the gracious God, will act in judgment and will destroy.

[25:39] And this is why God has expressed the fullness of his grace in sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us to rise again from the dead so that the wicked will be reconciled to God and receive the fullness of the blessings of a gracious God.

[25:57] I want to say to you and to myself this morning that the psalmist has given us a wonderful picture of God.

[26:10] God is great. God is glorious. His kingdom is everlasting. God is dependable. He gives food to all his creatures.

[26:21] He answers those who pray and fear him. He grants protection for those who are his. and brings judgment to those who are obstinate. And what should be our response to him?

[26:37] If God is a God like this, what should be our response to him? I think the only reasonable response is a response of faith. It is a response of submission to him.

[26:49] It is a response of praise to God. And we praise God by extolling him in our worship services. we praise God by sharing the testimony of what God has done in our lives.

[27:02] We praise God by proclaiming the gospel to one another and proclaiming the gospel to other people. Because in the gospel we see the full manifestation of the power of God and of the grace of God.

[27:17] God calls us to praise him. And that's why the psalmist finishes in verse 21, my mouth will speak the praises of the Lord and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

[27:32] May God grant us grace to lift his name in praise as we honor him and as we proclaim his greatness to people around us. Amen.

[27:43] Amen. This digital audio file, along with many others, is available from the St. John's Shaughnessy website at www.stjohnschaughnessy.org.

[28:01] That address is www.stjohns s-h-a-u-g-h-n-e-s-s-y dot o-r-g. On the website, you will also find information about ministries, worship services, and special events at St. John's Shaughnessy.

[28:20] We hope that this message has helped you, and that you will share it with others. Thank you.