[0:00] Let us join our hearts together in praising God by singing to His praise from Psalm 93 of the Sing Psalms version of the Blue Book.
[0:13] Psalm 93, Sing Psalms, you'll find that on page 1, 2, 3 of the Blue Book. We'll sing from the beginning of that psalm, we'll sing the whole psalm.
[0:26] The Lord is King, His throne endures majestic in His height. The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength and might.
[0:37] The world is founded firm and sure, removed it cannot be. Your throne is strong and You are God from all eternity. The seas, O Lord, have lifted up, they lifted up their voice.
[0:49] The seas have lifted up their waves and made a mighty noise. The Lord enthroned on high is strong, more powerful is He than thunder of the ocean's waves or breakers of the sea.
[1:01] Your royal statues, Lord, stand firm. Unchanging is Your Word and holiness adorns Your house for endless days, O Lord.
[1:13] We'll stand together and sing these verses to God's praise. The Lord is King. The Lord is King. The Lord is King.
[1:24] The heart is king, his throne endures, a chest in his height.
[1:40] The Lord is full in majesty, an arm with strength and light.
[1:57] The world is found in firm and sure, we would it have a be.
[2:14] Your throne is strong, and you are God of all eternity.
[2:31] The seas, O Lord, have lifted up, lifted up their voice.
[2:51] The seas have lifted up their weight, and made a mighty voice.
[3:09] The Lord, in throne of highest, strong or powerful is he, that land that all the oceans wave, are raiders of the sea.
[3:44] Your voice, O Lord, have lifted up, and heard of changing his pure word, and holyness, and Lord to rise, O'er the saints, O Lord.
[4:19] May we draw near to God in prayer. Let us bow in prayer. Our Father in heaven, as we come to you in this evening hour on your day, we pray that we would direct our minds and our hearts towards you and your word, and that we would have a focus upon what is set before us, and the beauty and wonder of your unchanging word, and in it may we see the unchanging promises of God, that we can take hold of, and embrace within our hearts, and we can lay hold of your word, as one that is a sure foundation for our souls, and that when we look at the world around us, and the changeableness of it, and the uncertainty of it, we then see the reassurance that we have, and the certainty and trusting in you.
[5:30] Let our minds be heavenward, and let us consider who you are, who you are as God, and Christ as our King, and we think on that kingship that is set before us, that will endure forever, and that we would love and abide, expecting to be received into the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of heaven.
[6:02] May your kingdom come, and may you gather all your people, in your due time, according to your ways, mysterious to our understanding.
[6:18] We pray that your spirit would be at work, within the hearts of us this night, and the desires of our heart would be towards you, and to know you, and you would reveal yourself to us in a greater sense than ever before, and that we may behold you with reverence and awe in our hearts, and consider all that we are receivers of through Christ Jesus.
[6:50] We thank you for all we have through him, and that he such so loved us, that he would go to the cross and die for us, and yet he gives us a great hope and assurance, for he did not remain in the grave, but ascended into heaven.
[7:14] And there he is preparing a place for his people, who trust in him and have faith in him. May we be those people that draw near to you, and cast aside all other loves of our hearts that we see in this world.
[7:32] And may the love of Christ Jesus grow and flourish, the seeds that is planted within us, abundantly grow and bear fruit in each of our lives, and as a church united.
[7:50] And the great phrase of Hebrews where he says, let us, may we rejoice together in that provision and inheritance that the Christian receives in Christ.
[8:04] We pray this night for the work that we do in this congregation. Varied and different people in whom we meet, we remember the work that the cruise ships that Martin Walker leads.
[8:22] We pray the blessing upon that as visitors come into this building and see the simplicity of it. May the word be highlighted and set before them, that they may see within those who speak with them the beauty of Christ Jesus.
[8:40] We pray for the Sunday school. We pray that a time of rest for the teachers in that. We remember Twinnies. We remember the team in Cresce.
[8:51] We pray for David Chisholm and his working road to recovery. And we pray over those who are suffering with addictions. That you would draw them from these things that bind them and that you would set them free.
[9:08] Lord, we pray for those who visit and that we would be mindful of those who are at home, even listening to us this night. That they too are part of us and are joined with us in worshipping you.
[9:24] Pray that we would be mindful of them. And that we would give that great consideration of each other and have that great concern for one another and how to stir up each other to love and good works.
[9:37] And yet, as we have that concern for one another, may that concern be also set within our hearts for those who are lost. And those who do not know of the glorious and immeasurable riches that they can receive in Christ Jesus.
[9:55] We pray that you would guide us in wisdom. That the words that we speak would be as fresh as a flowing stream and to those who do not know you.
[10:06] And speak to their hearts and souls. And may they see within the hearts of the believer a reassured hope and confidence in what they believe.
[10:18] Though trialed and afflicted in many ways, they stand firm upon the rock that is Jesus Christ and his promises. We pray for those who are afflicted.
[10:31] We pray for those who are suffering. We pray for those who are laid aside in illness. We pray that you would comfort them and be with them.
[10:43] We also acknowledge the anxieties people have in awaiting procedures in hospital. We pray also for them. That you would give them your peace and reassurance.
[10:55] That they would come and trust in you. Lord, we just pray that we would be living lights that go about in a dark world setting forth the beauty of Christ and illuminating that great pressure and riches of his word.
[11:23] Be with us. We pray in our time together as we come and consider what we are receivers of by being part of the kingdom of heaven. Be with us in minds our thoughts bodies and souls so that we would not be distracted nor turn away from your word.
[11:43] Help us to have that focus upon you a heavenward focus. May you grant us your blessing. May your spirit be your guide in these things and these matters.
[11:59] May your word be to us greatest treasure of all sweeter than honey and richer than gold. So be with us in our worship of you and all this we ask in the confession and forgiveness of our sins we ask in Jesus' name.
[12:18] Amen. I would like us to turn to your Bibles for our reading and we'll find that first reading in Exodus chapter 19.
[12:34] Exodus chapter 19. We'll break up our readings we'll read in Exodus and then afterwards we'll read in Hebrews after us singing. Exodus chapter 19.
[12:49] I'm reading at verse 7. This is Israel at Mount Sinai and Moses being called to meet with God.
[13:03] Let us hear God's word. So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him and the people answered together and said all that the Lord has spoken we will do.
[13:23] And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord and the Lord said to Moses behold I am coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever.
[13:40] When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord the Lord said to Moses go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people and you shall set limits for the people all around saying take care not to go into the mountain or touch the edge of it whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death no hand shall touch him but he shall be stoned or shot whether beast or man he shall not live when the trumpet sounds a long blast they shall come up to the mountain so Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people and they washed their garments and he said to the people be ready for the third day do not go near a woman on the morning of the third day there were thunder and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast so that all the people in the camp trembled then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire the smoke of it went up like the smoke of Achilles and the whole mountain trembled greatly and as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder
[15:21] Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder the Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up and the Lord said to Moses go down and warn the people lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish also let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves lest the Lord break out against them and Moses said to the Lord the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai for you yourself warned us saying set limits around the mountain and consecrate it and the Lord said to him go down and come up bringing Aaron with you but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord lest he break out against them so Moses went down to the people and told them
[16:26] Amen I'll continue in our praise of God by singing there in Psalm 110 of the Scottish Psalter version find that on page 390 Psalm 110 Scottish Psalter version page 390 we sing from the beginning of that Psalm down to the end of verse Mark 5 the Lord the Lord did say unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand until I make thy force a stool where on thy feet may stand the Lord shall out of Zion send thy rod of thy great power in midst of all thy enemies be thou the governor down to verse 5 the glorious and mighty Lord that sits at thy right hand shall in this his day of wrath strike through kings that do whom withstand we'll stand and sing these words together the Lord did say unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand this untoとうasters my Lord serve highanto to shall on return and till
[17:57] I af Thy boat's astool, where not thy feet they stand?
[18:14] The heart shall have the sky ascend, where shore the life is heard.
[18:48] Amen. Amen.
[19:48] Amen. Amen.
[20:20] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[20:33] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[20:44] Amen. We turn now to our Bibles in the second portion of reading from Scripture in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12.
[20:59] We'll read there at verse 18. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 18.
[21:16] For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom, and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
[21:37] For they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear.
[21:55] But you have come, rather, to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
[22:34] See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
[22:48] At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.
[22:59] This phrase, yet once more, indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is, things that have been made, in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
[23:13] Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
[23:35] Amen. May the reading of God's word be blessed to us as always. Amen. We continue in our praise to God before considering this passage, and we'll do so in Psalm 48a of the Sing Psalms Version.
[23:53] You'll find that on page 63 of the Blue Book. We'll also conclude with this psalm after our considerations of Scripture, if you just might want to keep that page.
[24:10] We'll sing the whole psalm over them two singings. Our first singing will take us down to verse marked 8. Psalm 48a.
[24:21] Sing down to verse marked 8.
[24:31] as we have heard, so we have seen, God's city will endure.
[24:50] The Lord Almighty evermore, his city keeps secure. A psalm that speaks of the security of Mount Zion and the king's great city that will endure forever.
[25:06] May we stand and sing these verses. Great is the Lord who rules on high, with praise his temple full. The Lord who rules on high, with praise his temple full.
[25:34] Within the city of our God and on his holy hill.
[25:50] Thanks, I long with his graceful heart, his joy to all the earth.
[26:06] The great is the Lord who rules on high, with praise his temple full.
[26:24] Within her city of our God and on his holy hill. God's presence is revealed.
[26:39] For he has told himself to be a fortress of mercy.
[26:54] God's presence is revealed. When kings join forces to attack, As one they march away.
[27:12] They saw her and they wear a mist. They all in terror play.
[27:28] Like women giving burdened pain, They tremble in his shame.
[27:45] You wrecked them like a merchant tree, By temples and stone away.
[28:00] But we are so happy seeing, God's city will endure.
[28:16] The Lord almighty evermore. His city is secure.
[28:31] Amen. I'll come now and consider the words from the book of Hebrews.
[28:44] And for our text tonight, Read there at verse 28. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
[28:58] And thus, let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire. Over the last few weeks, We have looked at some of the great Bible similes that we find in the Bible.
[29:17] And although we don't have one set before us tonight, In the morning we consider what the kingdom of heaven was like, As Jesus spoke of in the parables.
[29:28] And we consider what was the kingdom. And how that kingdom was all set in place by the gathering of the people.
[29:39] And how that kingdom would come in the gathering of the people. And I thought that this section here that speaks of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, Would be a fitting conclusion to these Bible similes.
[29:53] And I've tied them all together. The outworking of Christ's kingdom. And the gathering of the people as we considered in the morning.
[30:06] And the riches of it. We looked at and considered. And tonight I really want to give our minds to the greatness of that kingdom.
[30:20] That it is sure and steadfast like the man who built his house on the rock. It is a place where the king's blessing pours down, Like the oil on Aaron's head and the dew of Mount Hermon.
[30:36] It is a place where the people in the kingdom of heaven are washed whiter than snow. And it is a place where the gathering of that kingdom rejoice in saying together, Let us.
[30:55] The greatness of Christ's kingdom is set before us in this passage. As a great provision and a great inheritance that we receive.
[31:07] But is it so great to you as you consider it, That you are stirred to that thankfulness spoken in verse 28, With a gratefulness in your heart, For receiving such a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
[31:25] And is this thought on this great kingdom so wondrous to you, That you cannot but draw near to him in worship with reverence and awe.
[31:39] If we do, that's great. But if not, then we have all the more reason to consider how great this kingdom is, So that we too would be stirred in such a way.
[31:53] That we are called by the king to come into this kingdom and receive the king's favour.
[32:05] I pray that each of us would be found in the kingdom of heaven. And this kingdom here is represented by two mountains from our passage.
[32:17] One greater than the other. And in the final section from verse 25. There is a comparison made between two kingdoms.
[32:30] The kingdom of the world that will be shaken and the kingdom of God that will stand forever. So let us give our mind to those differences that are set before us.
[32:41] Of two parts, considering two mountains, And considering the greater mountain. And considering the greater kingdom. So let's look at the greater mountain that is set before us.
[32:56] It says there in verse 18. For you have not come to what may be touched a blazing fire, darkness and gloom, and a tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice whose words made the hearer beg that no further messages would be spoken to them.
[33:16] For they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. And so on. Oh, this passage takes us back to Mount Sinai.
[33:32] And the section that we read there in Exodus together. But there is a contrast set before Mount Sinai. With Mount Zion.
[33:43] You'll see that in verse 22. Whereas we come to the Mount Sinai at first in verse 18. In verse 22, the writer of the Hebrews says, But you have come to Mount Zion.
[33:57] There are two mountains set before us. And if we consider Mount Sinai. And God's almighty approach that he made to his people there.
[34:08] And the representative Moses going on behalf of them to meet with God. God asked for their preparation. To consecrate themselves.
[34:20] To wash themselves. And we read that they came with fear and trembling. In verse 16 of that chapter.
[34:31] And as we read through the descriptions of all that happened on Mount Sinai. We kind of get a picture. But we don't grasp really the effect of what was going on at that time.
[34:43] The fear of anyone going near the mountain. God commanded that they should be stoned or shot. They were to die. They were to die.
[34:54] Man or beast. They were to stay back. Until the trumpet sounded. Then they could draw closer.
[35:05] But even only so far. For Moses had to go back. And restrain them. From drawing into the presence of God.
[35:16] They could not endure. The order that was given. To draw near to God. And to come to him. And we could see that. When we consider this Old Testament account.
[35:28] We see in it the great display of God's power. His might. His authority. Really emphasized at Mount Sinai. This is the obvious revealing of God's character at Sinai.
[35:43] Such that it produces within the heart of man. Fear and trembling. Even in the heart of Moses. Verse 21. Yet under this great display of fear.
[35:58] This great display of might and power. That provoked such fear. Underneath that. There is a loving, forgiving, patient and long-suffering God.
[36:12] It's not obvious to us. But we don't even need to leave Mount Sinai to see it. For if you remember. While Moses was up on that mountain. The people of God were building a golden calf.
[36:26] And making an idol of that calf. God did not destroy them for such an action. But God in his patience, forgiveness, long-suffering.
[36:39] With the people that were so stiff-necked. He allowed them to be builders of the tabernacle. Where he would come and dwell with them.
[36:51] Although when we consider Sinai. The might and power of God. Is really set before us. And the writer is saying there in verse 18.
[37:06] We have not come to a place like that. We have not come to the place of things that may be touched. We have come to far superior things than Mount Sinai.
[37:19] The Hebrew writer is saying this is the way things were in the old covenant. In the old ways. But now consider the ways that we have now.
[37:30] And the riches of it. You have come to Mount Zion. Mount Zion, a mountain that represented the presence of God. Before Jerusalem.
[37:42] Mount Zion's mountain stood over Jerusalem. And it was considered as that seat and throne of God. That watched over his precious people of Jerusalem.
[37:55] As we saw in Psalm 133. And from that throne. The blessings of God poured down. And yet it is to this mountain that we come, Mount Zion, not to a place where we are arrested by the fear and terror of God, but where the immeasurable riches of this king pour down upon his people by the one that went before us, by our representative, by the blood of Christ, we receive spiritual treasure of surpassing value in the kingdom of heaven that is set before us.
[38:48] Mount Zion, in a sense, reverses the emphasis of Mount Sinai. Love is emphasized and not wrath. The new covenant and the new ways openly display the love of God in the giving of his son at Calvary.
[39:09] And yet under that great display of love, and no greater display of love can anyone make than to give their life. Underneath that is the power and might of God, the sovereignty of God.
[39:25] And you can see, well, on both mountains, there is a God which loves us and is patient and long-suffering with us, but also a God that causes fear and trembling in our heart.
[39:43] Such is God, such is God, and such he will be. We are not to pluck God's attributes as we see fit.
[39:59] For if we do that, we lose the character of God. And it will directly influence how we draw near to him and how we worship him.
[40:12] And if we consider the riches of Mount Zion, look there what we read of about this mountain in verse 22. It is so rich of what we receive.
[40:25] But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to the innumerable angels and festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are ruled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
[40:53] The writer's building upon himself as he speaks about this kingdom, about this heavenly kingdom that has been prepared for us.
[41:05] The privileges of it are set forth for us to consider. You can come to the city of the living God.
[41:15] You are not restricted from his dwelling place. You are not restricted like the people were in Mount Sinai, nor are you restricted like the people were by the curtain of the tabernacle.
[41:35] We have come into the city of the living God. We are welcomed into that city, not restrained, even to be with the innumerable angels in the worship of God, to that festal gathering.
[41:57] And that word to describe that gathering is a word that is not used anywhere else in Scripture, and maybe rightly so, for it is a gathering like no other.
[42:12] We are come to this adjoining with the innumerable angels in the worship of God as receivers of the kingdom of heaven.
[42:25] And you have come to be included in the assembly in heaven, enrolled in heaven, written with your name registered in this place.
[42:45] You have citizenship in this heavenly kingdom. Your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. And it is not just to the city, nor the angels, nor the assembly, but you have come unto God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.
[43:09] For it is only those who are made perfect in righteousness, and the righteousness of Christ, that are judged as pure.
[43:20] Those who have washed their garments in the blood of Christ, made perfect in his righteousness, and it is to the one who gives us his righteousness that we also come.
[43:40] It says there, to Jesus, our Savior, our mediator, our representative, the one who went into the place where we could not go, nor the place where we could endure.
[43:58] He went to satisfy the justice of God by his unblemished, perfect sacrifice, so that we may enter into his presence by the blood that cleansed us from all our unrighteousness.
[44:19] and it is a blood spilt that speaks. And it speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
[44:31] It says there in verse 24. Both men were killed unjustly. Both offered a willing sacrifice with blood.
[44:48] Abel brought a lamb as an offering, but also his own blood spoke, though separately.
[45:01] Christ's sacrifice and life is such that they are both his own. And while Abel's blood is a blood that spoke of vengeance against his offender, and a punishment that God made upon Cain that it says he could not bear, the wrath and curse of God that was so great for him, Christ's blood does not speak in such a way.
[45:39] Christ's blood speaks with forgiveness to those who have offended him. Christ's blood was so like that willing sacrifice offered.
[45:53] And it was such a sacrifice that was likewise received and regarded by God. And it was a sacrifice that bore the punishment that we could not bear.
[46:09] The blood of Christ is a far better word. And though Christ, and though through this blood and through Christ, we come to Mount Zion through this man.
[46:27] not in the old ways of Mount Zion with fear and trembling, but a new and living way is opened up for us.
[46:40] Unto the heavenly kingdom, unto the glory of God. The curtain that kept us back has been torn.
[46:52] The way has been opened by the blood of the Lamb, allowing us to go to the places where we are restricted from going into the presence of God.
[47:05] We enter into far superior things and far greater blessings as the people of God. We are so privileged to receive these things.
[47:20] It is like the words of Psalm 89. O greatly blessed the people are the joyful sound that know in brightness of thy face, O Lord, they ever on shall go.
[47:33] They in thy name shall all the day rejoice exceedingly and in thy righteousness they shall be exalted, exalted be on high.
[47:45] And it is to the heights of Zion that we will be exalted to be with God and to be in the presence of God for Christ has opened up the way to be in such a place.
[48:03] And it is a great kingdom that is set before the one who trusts in Christ. Verse 25 makes a call to each of us.
[48:17] See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
[48:30] At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.
[48:41] This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is, the things that have been made in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
[48:55] He's calling to each of us to understand what has been said here. That we do not reject the provision and inheritance that we have through Christ Jesus.
[49:08] the sacrifice for our sins. The king is asking you to come into his kingdom and receive these riches.
[49:25] Do you know the value of the treasure that is set before you tonight in his word? Here is a warning not to refuse it, for by the power that shook Sinai it says that he will also shake this world and destroy all things that have been made so the things that cannot be shaken will remain.
[49:51] The things not made with hands, the things that are eternal in the heavens, only what cannot be shaken, what God has made and provided shall remain.
[50:04] Mount Zion will stand forever. This kingdom is such that it is so secure it will not be shaken.
[50:17] The kingdom in which the believer in Christ is a part of today gives you the greatest security for tomorrow.
[50:28] For even our lives shall be shaken, our bodies shall be shaken, and removed. But the kingdom of heaven and those who are part of the kingdom of heaven and welcome into the kingdom of heaven shall endure.
[50:51] Is there an excuse for those who have heard these things of such a provision of wonder that it is made for those through Christ Jesus?
[51:05] We are not to come with fear and trembling. We are to come and rejoice in all that has been done for us. And as the trumpet sounded at Mount Sinai for the people to come, so the trumpet sounds tonight.
[51:24] The gospel has been sounded throughout our land and it has been made known to the hearer of it and you tonight that it is time to come and receive these riches, to receive the blessing and favour of the King, to come to this blessed Mount Zion.
[51:49] let us rejoice as we consider the provision that has been made for us. Where abundant blessings flow down to the people, the trumpet sounds the favour of the King, but yet another trumpet shall sound, a trumpet that will sound the coming of that kingdom and completeness.
[52:19] as we pray and call for his kingdom to come, a prayer that will with surety be answered. It's just like the parable of the night that we considered this morning, where those will be gathered and those will be separated, the good from the bad, those who believe in Christ and are part of the kingdom of heaven shall be safe and secure.
[52:48] Christ's own appeal to the people was, repent, turn from the ways in which you are living, turn from the desires of your heart, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
[53:06] The King is calling to you tonight, the trumpet is being sounded, that you may come. And what is the writer of the Hebrews conclusion to all these things?
[53:22] He says, therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire.
[53:42] When someone gives you a gift of abundance, you're not quite sure what to do. And it is the abundance of God's grace, the forgiveness of your sins, the washings of your garments, a solid rock in which to build your life upon, and the receiving of God's favour.
[54:10] It's sometimes hard to grasp. and to receive them. But they are set before you tonight. The believer in Christ has received all this already.
[54:28] The believer in Christ is already part of this kingdom. His name is already written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Christ is He is already welcomed into the king's city to join in the praise of God and enrolled in that great assembly.
[54:53] They can come to God, they can come to Jesus through that blood that was poured out for you. we have received these things already.
[55:06] We are one and the same in the kingdom of heaven. We are included in all these things. The kingdom has been prepared for you.
[55:19] The king is waiting to gather the people of his kingdom which are set before us here tonight. the king's kingdom will come in completion and he is calling you to come to it.
[55:38] And I admit in all these things we can only really touch on it and probably rightly so. We cannot grasp them in full. They are inconceivable to us of what these riches really are.
[55:54] We see through our glass dimly we have tastes of this heavenly experience but we fail to convey the full measure what it will mean for us.
[56:09] Even the outworking of God's grace in our lives we can explain it so far but then we are left without words. There's just some point that comes where we are just lost to explain the riches have been part of the kingdom of heaven and knowing that the blood of Christ has redeemed me and opened up a way for me in which I can draw near to God.
[56:39] So great are these things. Let us give thanks thanks for the kingdom of heaven that is prepared for us, the kingdom of heaven that we are part of, the believer in Christ Jesus.
[56:58] And thus do so offer worship in a manner that is fitting for the honour of the King.
[57:09] King Jesus and the glory of God that we worship him with reverence and awe. There's a sermon in this itself but I must conclude.
[57:24] The reverence of God equates to the shame in a sense of knowing the abundance of what we have received, the unworthiness of our receiving it, whether it is that we are spared his anger or that we are receiving such an abundance of things.
[57:48] A.W. Pink says, Though God has taken his redeemed into intimate nearness with himself, yet he requires that they always retain a due apprehension of the majesty of his person and the holiness of his nature, the severity of his justice, and the ardent or passionate jealousy of his worship.
[58:18] You see, we cannot pluck at the preferable attributes of God, or it will affect our worship of him and how we draw near to him.
[58:32] if we only consider his love, we will have no reverence to draw near to him. Our awe will not be complete if we forget the almighty power that was shown at Sinai.
[58:50] Our worship must be in honour of God and to the glory of God, and that's why he concludes by saying, for our God is a consuming fire.
[59:00] That comes from Deuteronomy where God himself directed the people of Israel on how to worship him, that they were not to worship him in ways that they thought fit themselves, they were worshipped him in ways in which he had appointed, not to use images or idolatry in any sense.
[59:23] Our worship, as we draw near to God, should have a holy fear and a captivating love. intertwined with one another, and finding that balance can be difficult at times, we must confess.
[59:39] Though amid these difficulties and differences, the greater God is to you, and the more that we know of God and understand of the greatest riches that we receive in Christ Jesus, the greater our desire will be to come to him.
[59:57] I hope we see the surpassing glory of his kingdom. The King is calling you to come tonight.
[60:09] The promise of his rest still stands. Let us fear, lest any of you should seem to fail to reach it.
[60:22] Without the gospel, we have only fear and trembling. The law of Sinai condemns us. It is a mountain that we will come to in fear.
[60:36] But with the gospel, we have the greatest provision, the greatest inheritance, the greatest security, the way has been opened for us.
[60:49] We are not held back. we are welcomed into the presence of the King. It is a kingdom that gives us confidence because it shall not be shaken.
[61:05] It is a great kingdom, greater than any kingdom in this world. As we consider it, may we draw near to him with reverence and awe of a God that is mighty and good.
[61:24] May these thoughts be blessed to us. We'll conclude by singing in the psalm that we left off with, Psalm 48a. Sing Psalms, page 63.
[61:42] We'll sing the remainder of the verses there from verse 9 to 14. Again, the considerations of the city of our God.
[62:00] We contemplate your steadfast love within your house, O God, for like your name, your praise extends throughout the earth abroad. All that you do is right as Lord, Mount Zion's joy is great, and Judah's towns rejoice as you, your judgment celebrate.
[62:21] Round Zion walk and count her towers, view every citadel, so that the children yet are born, her story you may tell. For God the Lord who is her God, forever will abide, he is her God forevermore, and to the end her guide.
[62:39] The confidence that the psalmist had when he came to contemplate God, and as he round Zion walked and counted the blessings that he received.
[62:53] Let us stand and sing these verses. We contemplate your steadfast love within your house, O God. God, we contemplate your steadfast love within your eyes, O God, your eyes, O God, for thy pure influence your grace makes faint through all the end the pride.
[63:37] All that you do is righteous for your joy is great, and to the time rejoice as may your judges celebrate.
[64:10] celebrate. Round Zion walk and crown her heart you every sin at end, so that to children and to children may get apart their story you may tell.
[64:49] For God, the Lord, who is their God, forever and will abide, forever will abide, he is our God, forever more, and to the end our night.
[65:18] just conclude with a word of prayer.
[65:30] Our Father in heaven, when we consider your great love shown towards us in Christ Jesus, and the privilege we receive from him, that we can enter into your presence, and we receive our show of your glory and great inheritance.
[65:47] He is the one that went to the places where we could not endure, and he is the one that calls to us tonight. May we receive your kingdom with joy.
[66:02] May it be a treasure to us unspeakable and inconceivable, and unexplainable in many ways. May we know what it is to stand firm upon the solid rock that is Jesus Christ, and a kingdom that shall not be shaken, and in a place where we can find security and confidence in our life.
[66:29] Be with us as we part, and the week ahead watch over us, we pray in Jesus' name. May we ask these things. Amen.