Value this time in your life, kids.
It's a time of your life when you still have your choices and it goes by so fast.
When you're a teenager, you think you can do anything and you do.
Your 20s are just a blur.
In your 30s, you have a family, make a little money.
Think to yourself, what happened to my 20s?
In your 40s, you grow a little pot belly and another chin.
The music starts to get too loud and one of your girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother.
In your 50s, you have a minor surgery.
You'll call it a procedure, but it's still surgery.
In your 60s, you'll have a major surgery.
The music is still too loud, but it doesn't matter because you can't hear it anyway.
In your 70s, you and the wife will retire to Fort Lauderdale, start eating lunch at 10am,
dinner at 2pm and breakfast the night before.
You'll spend most of your time wandering around shopping malls looking for the ultimate soft serve yogurt
and muttering, how come the kids don't call?
How come the kids don't call?
In your 80s, you'll have a major stroke and end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse
who your wife can't stand but whom you call mama.
Any questions?
That's Billy Crystal's speech to his child's school class in the 1991 Western comedy film City Slickers.
Billy Crystal, he plays a guy named Mitch.
He hits 39 years of age and he has a midlife crisis.
Suddenly, he realises that his life isn't what he thought it would be.
It's not so great.
The world in which he lives is a mess.
And he starts asking the question, what's the point of it all?
What's the point of life?
What is the purpose of life?
And so he and a few mates go on a cowboy camping holiday to rediscover their masculinity and to find the purpose of life.
And he finds it by helping a cow give birth to a calf.
It's a feel-good, occasionally funny, but empty movie in the end.
But it does raise questions.
The sort of questions that people are asking, the sort of questions that teenagers and children are asking,
the sort of questions that retirees are asking, the sort of questions that we ask,
what is it all for?
It's not about you.
That's how Rick Warren begins his book, The Purpose Driven Life.
It's not about you.
And he goes on to say,
the purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment,
your peace of mind, or even your happiness.
It's far greater than your family, your career, and even your wildest dreams and ambitions.
If you want to know why you were placed in this planet,
you must begin with God.
You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.
The atheist and philosopher Bertrand Russell said,
if God doesn't exist, which he didn't believe God existed,
then what is the purpose of life is a question that has no sense at all.
And the Bible is clear on the purpose of life.
It's not about me.
It is, in fact, about him.
Colossians 1.15,
The Son is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
For in him all things were created,
things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.
All things have been created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning of the firstborn from among the dead,
so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
So you have a purpose.
This church has a purpose because God has a purpose.
And there are five very specific but interacting purposes
that God has for your life and my life
and our life together.
And we're going to look at each one of those things,
as Deb indicated, over the next five weeks
in this Our Vision series.
And we begin with magnification.
We exist for the glory of God.
This is the only one of the five purposes
that is not a means to an end.
This is the end.
Magnification is the goal of all things,
the glory of God.
Now, magnification, or to magnify,
is used in a limited way in our day.
It normally refers to making something appear larger
than it actually is,
like through a lens of a microscope
or something like that, or a telescope.
Or through a telescope,
something that's small, making it look bigger.
Or in another way,
it's used in common language
to increase or to exaggerate
the importance of something
or the effect of something.
For instance, wow, you know,
you had your issues before you went to prison,
but man, prison really magnified them.
That kind of an idea.
Now, the original use of the word magnify,
which comes from the Latin word magnus,
which means great,
is to praise highly or to glorify.
Its supreme use,
in its original context,
was in reference to God.
Because God is great.
Because God is magnus,
he is worthy of being magnified.
And this is, in fact,
what we see in Isaiah 6,
which was just read out to us.
So go to Isaiah 6.
I'm going to linger there for a bit.
Get your Bibles out.
If you haven't got a Bible,
stick your hand up.
We'll get one to you real quick.
Isaiah 6.
We see two things
in the verses that were read out to us
that make God worthy of being magnified.
God is great, firstly,
and God is gracious, secondly.
And we get seven glimpses
of the greatness of God
in the first four verses.
I'm going to travel across these real quick,
even though I'd love to linger longer in them.
But firstly, it says God is alive.
Notice,
In the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord sit on the throne.
King Uzziah was the longest serving monarch at the time.
He was the greatest, most powerful man
in the world at the time.
And it says,
King Uzziah is dead,
but in the year that he died,
God is alive.
He continues to live.
Psalm 90 verse 2 says,
Before the mountains were born
or brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting,
you are God.
From infinite that direction
to infinite that direction,
no ending, no ending.
You are God.
You are alive.
So this God was the living God
when the universe was banged into existence
as he spoke it into existence.
He was the living God
when the Great Wall of China
was built over a very long period of time.
He was the living God
when in 1966,
Time magazine put a title on its cover
that said,
God is dead.
He is alive.
He was alive then.
Is he alive today?
And he will be living
still 10 trillion ages from now.
There is not a single head of state
in the entire world,
not a single person sitting on the throne
who will be ruling in 90 years.
And in a brief 120 years,
this planet is going to be populated
by more than 10 billion brand new people
and all 7.7 billion of us today,
alive today,
will vanish off the face of the earth
like King Uzziah.
But not God.
He never had a beginning
and therefore he depends on nothing
for his existence.
He always has been
and always will be alive.
Second glimpse we get here
is that God is authoritative.
Verse 2,
I saw the Lord seated on a throne.
That's his vision.
He sees this God on a throne.
You see, no vision of heaven.
Read the Bible.
There's no vision of heaven
where you ever catch a glimpse of God
cooking a meal.
He's never out cutting the grass
or shining shoes
or filling out forms
or loading a truck.
He sits.
He sits on his throne.
The throne.
The throne is his right to rule.
You see, we do not give God authority
over our lives.
He has authority over our lives
whether we surrender to it or not.
I think few things are more humbling.
Few things give us that sense
of the raw majesty of God
as the truth of God
is utterly authoritative.
After him, there is no appeal.
And that's the third glimpse.
You see, we see this God
is not just has authority,
but he has all authority,
has all power.
The throne of his authority
is not one amongst many thrones.
I saw the Lord seated on a throne
high and exalted.
That God's throne is higher
than every other throne,
every other authority,
every other power
signifies that God's superior power
to exercise his authority
over all things.
There is no opposing authority
that can nullify the decrees of God.
What he promises,
what he declares cannot be undone.
What he purposes,
he accomplishes.
As God says a little later
in Isaiah 46.10,
I make known the beginning
from the end,
from the beginning,
from ancient times,
what is still to come.
I say,
my purpose will stand
and I will do all that I please.
To be gripped
by the all-powerful
sovereignty of God
is either marvelous
because he is for you
or it is terrifying
because he is against you.
Indifference to it,
just indifference to it
means that you have not seen it.
You have not seen him
for who he is.
The sovereign authority
of the living God
is a refuge full of joy
and power for those who are his.
His promise to you
can never be nullified,
never be overturned.
Fourthly,
we see that this God
is magnificent.
It says,
I saw the Lord
sitting on his throne
high and exalted
and the train of his robe
filled the temple.
Now,
royal weddings
are a bit of a rage lately.
Well,
at least one anyway.
You know,
Harry and Megan,
the other ones
haven't been rated as highly.
But,
you may remember
if you're as old as I am
or maybe even seen the pictures
of the wedding dress
when Harry's mum
was married,
Diana,
Princess of Wales,
married to Charlie
back in 1981.
And I remember
as a young lad
at that point
being in a room
watching this wedding,
not sure why,
but being told to stay up
and I remember
in the moment
that she hopped out
of the carriage
and started walking
up the stairs
into St. Paul's Cathedral,
the only thing
I remember
is this dress
just kept going
on
and on
and the women
in the room
gasping
at this dress,
the train
of her robe
was eight metres long.
It sort of like
filled the steps
at St. Paul's Cathedral
in London.
So what would it mean
if the train
filled the aisle
and covered the seats
and the choir loft
and the pulpit
and it wasn't,
it was just one piece
of cloth
just...
You see,
that God's robe
fills the entire temple
is a
splendour moment.
God is incomparable
in His splendour.
The fullness
of God's splendour
shows itself
in millions
and billions
of ways.
His magnificence
spills over
into excessive
creative beauty.
It's what we see
in the wonder
of all
of creation.
Everything
in the universe
from the tiniest
atom to the depths
of the ocean
where there is fish
with headlights
and big teeth
and you go,
why are they there?
No one knows.
Except it's God
saying,
there you go.
That is where
you exist.
The furthest reach
of the...
It just displays
the magnificence
of His character.
And fifthly,
we get a glimpse
of this God
is revered.
Above Him
were seraphs,
each with six wings.
With two wings,
they were covering
their faces.
With two,
they covered their feet.
With two,
they were flying.
Now,
no one really knows
from the rest
of the Bible
what these
strange six-wing
creatures
with feet
and eyes
and intelligence
are.
There's some
kind of an angel.
One thing is for sure,
given the grandeur
of this scene
in the heavenly realms
and the power
of the angelic hosts,
it is best for us
not to picture
the angelic hosts
as chubby little babies
with wings
fluttering around
the throne of God.
According to verse four,
when one of them speaks,
the foundations
of the temple shake.
Wind this sound system up
as far as it goes,
and I can't get
this building to shake.
These are not
chubby little babies
with wings.
There are no puny
or silly little creatures
in heaven,
only magnificent ones.
And the point is,
not even they,
not even these seraphs
can look upon God,
nor do they feel worthy
even to leave
their feet exposed
in His presence.
One of my kids
is in kids' church
this morning
with no shoes on.
Totally fine.
In the presence of God,
you cover them up.
You see,
great and good
as they are
untainted
by human sin,
they revere
their maker
in great humility.
You see,
when one of these seraphs
an angel appears
before a human being
in the Bible,
they normally begin
dialogue with the human being
with fear not.
Because
that's exactly
the human response
when you're confronted
with one of them.
Fear and trembling,
but angels themselves
hide in holy fear
and reverence
in the presence of God.
so far greater
than they
is He.
Six,
God is holy.
Verse three,
and they were calling
to one another.
And let me try
to pick it up here.
Holy,
holy,
holy
is the Lord
almighty.
The whole earth
is full of His glory.
Multiply that
billions of times
until the
thresholds shake.
You see,
the possibility
of language
to carry the meaning
of God
eventually runs out
and holy
is as far
as you can go.
The word holy
carries us to the brink
and from there
the experience
of God
is beyond words.
You see,
the reason I say that
is that every effort
to define
the holiness
of God
ultimately winds up
by saying
God is holy
means
God is holy.
Means God is God.
You see,
the word holy
means to cut
or to separate
from.
And a holy
thing
in our
terms
is cut off
from
or separated
from
from common
use.
That's what it
means.
You separate
from common
use,
set it aside,
it becomes
a holy
thing.
Earthly
things and
persons are
holy
as they are
distinct from
the world
and devoted
to God.
But what
happens
if that
definition
is applied
to God
Himself?
from what
can you
separate
God
to make
Him
holy?
You see,
the very
Godness
of God
means
that He
is separate
from all
that is
not God.
That's because
God
exists
in a
different
way
to us.
We,
His creatures,
exist
in a
dependent,
derived,
finite,
fragile
way,
but our
God
exists
in an
eternal,
self-sustaining,
necessary
way.
I use
the word
necessary
there
in the
sense that
God does
not have
it in
Him.
It's not
part of
His nature
to go
out of
existence.
in the
same way
that we
do not
have it
in our
nature
to not
go out
of
existence.
We
cannot
naturally
live
forever.
God
cannot
naturally
die.
We
all
necessarily
age and
die
because
it is
our
present
nature
to do
that.
And so
we ask
the question,
well,
what is
this
short
time span
that I'm
on earth
is all
about?
We
cannot do
anything
else but
eventually
die.
One of
my girls
said
recently
in the
last couple
of weeks,
I don't
want to
grow up
and I
want to
stay a
child
forever.
Well,
good luck
with that,
I thought.
It didn't
work for
Michael
Jackson
or most
Aussie
blokes,
as it
turns out.
Only
God,
only
God
necessarily
continues
forever
unchanged.
The
God
of
the
Bible
needs
no
support
system.
God
is
one
of
a
kind
and
in
that
sense
he
is
utterly
holy.
God
has
life
in
himself.
He
draws
his
unending
energy
from
himself.
His
being
and his
character
not
determined
by
anything
outside
of
himself.
He
is
absolute.
Everything
else
derives
from
him.
He
does
not
derive
his
being
from
anything
else.
He
is
incomparable.
His
holiness
determines
all that
he
is
and
he's
determined
by
no
one
else.
Nothing
else.
You
can
call it
his
majesty.
You
can
call it
his
divinity.
You
can
call it
his
greatness.
You
can
call it
his
value.
You
can
call
it
his
worth.
You
can
call
it
his
magnificence.
In
the
end,
we
sail
up to
the
very
of
human
language
and
it
runs
out.
There
may
be
so
much
more
to
know
of
this
God
but
that
is
beyond
our
ability
to
express
it.
And
so
Habakkuk
2.20
says
get to
the
edge.
The
Lord
is in
his
holy
temple,
the
whole
earth.
Be
silent
before
him.
Just
ah.
We
learn a
seventh and
a final
thing about
God.
God
is
glorious.
Verse
3.
Holy,
holy,
holy is
the
Lord
almighty.
The
whole
earth
is
full
of
his
glory.
We
get to
the
edge
and we
go
ah.
And
we
would not
know
anything
about
this
God
and his
holiness
and his
magnificence
if he
did not
graciously
reveal it
to us.
See,
God's
glory
is in
fact the
revealing
of his
holiness.
God
is
glorious
means that
God's
holiness,
his divine
being,
his character
has gone
public.
It means
that he
sent it
viral.
He's
displayed it.
He's
made it
clear.
Romans 1
says the
whole
earth,
God has
revealed
himself in
what he's
made.
And
unless he
reveals
himself,
we would
not see
him for
who he
is.
But
when he
does,
there is
only one
response.
Leviticus 10
verse 3,
God says,
among those
who approach
me,
I will
show
myself
holy.
In
the sight
of all
people,
I will
be
honoured.
Or
another
word that
can be
changed
with
honoured
there is
I will
be
magnified.
When I
reveal my
magnus,
the
response is
magnification.
When God
reveals his
glory to
his
creatures,
the
response of
his
creatures is
to give
glory,
to give
praise,
to give
adoration,
to magnify
God.
To magnify
God is
to respond
to his
revealing of
his
magnificence.
We cannot
glorify God
without engaging
with his
glory.
You see,
God wants
to be
praised for
his
praiseworthiness,
magnified for
his greatness
and his
goodness.
He wants
to be
appreciated
for who
he is.
And so
God reveals
his glory
to people
and to
angels
in a
free
and a
radically
generous
way.
Then there
is a
response
of
adoration
on the
part of
people
and the
angels
where they
give glory
to God
out of
gratitude
for what
they
have
seen
of
God
and
received
from
him.
God's
glory
showing
requires
glory
giving
and this
is at the
heart
of true
fulfillment
of God's
creatures.
It brings
joy to
people
as it
does
to God.
God's
glory
revealing
prompts
glory
giving
and that
is the
purpose
of why
you were
made.
The New
Testament
writers
declare that
the public
display of
God's
nature,
his
character,
his
power,
his
purpose,
his
grace,
his
glory,
his
magnus
is now
open to
view
for all
peoples
in the
person
and the
work of
God's
Son,
the Lord
Jesus
Christ.
That is,
Jesus is
the pinnacle
of God's
glory
revealing.
And what
is amazing
is this
little bit
in John's
gospel that
you read
it,
it's
surrounded
by a
difficult
text,
but when
you read
this verse,
you flip
straight through
it without
noticing it,
but let me
just read
it to you.
John 12
verse 41,
he's just
quoted the
prophet Isaiah,
and he
says,
Isaiah said
this because
he saw
Jesus'
glory and
spoke about
him.
See what
John says
there?
You'd flip
straight through
that.
See what
he says?
Jesus is
who Isaiah
saw here in
his vision
in Isaiah
6.
Jesus
radiates,
he reflects,
he mirrors,
he displays
the character,
the purpose,
the power,
and the grace
and the mercy
of God.
The magnificence
of what went
public in
Jesus was
the plan
and the work
of grace
whereby he
saves
sinners.
And so
that's why
our purpose
statement says
that we
exist as a
church because
we treasure
Jesus.
Treasuring
Jesus for
God's glory
and the joy
of all
peoples.
Now on
one level
it probably
shocks us
to think
that God's
goal is
his glory,
his goal
of all
things is
his glory.
If my
goal in
life was
my glory,
which without
the work of
God in our
life, that's
exactly the
reason why we
exist, we
pursue our
own glory,
we call
that egotism.
Most of
us in
the North
Shore are
really good
at hiding
our egotism
or work
really well
at hiding
our egotism,
but it's
there, the
heartbeat of
our lives,
my glory all
the time.
For God
to pursue
his glory,
it doesn't
point to
divine ego,
but in
fact to
divine love.
For us
it's self-centered,
for him it's
divine love.
God doing
everything for
his glory is
the foundation
of his love
for us.
God's
commitment to
his glory
means love
and life
and forgiveness
and eternal
fame for
those who
live for
his glory.
His
commitment to
his glory
is the
foundation for
his love
for us.
Did you
note Isaiah's
response,
having seen
God's glory
in verse 5,
what does he
immediately do?
Wow,
you're God
and I'm
not.
Woe to
me,
I cried,
I am
ruined,
for I'm
a man of
unclean
lips and
I live
among a
people of
unclean
lips and
my eyes
have seen
the King,
the Lord
Almighty.
You see,
this is
Isaiah,
one of
God's
people and
as sincere
as his
worship has
been,
Isaiah has
not been a
man whose
heart has
been in
love with
God.
His
profession of
faith has
been orthodox
but empty
with little
heart awareness
of the
grandeur of
God.
God,
and as
this
awareness
forms in
Isaiah's
mind,
he blorts
out the
obvious
conclusion,
woe to
me.
He's
tracking along,
God reveals
his glory and
he goes,
whoa.
And the
very first
words that
are spoken
by the
prophet Isaiah
in this
enormous book
of Isaiah
is those
words there.
And for
the first
time in
his life,
he actually
worships
God.
For the
first time,
he sees
that he is
typical of
his generation
whose faith
was unthinking
and glib.
Their mouths
were not
filled with
worship but
with flippant
repetitions
and self-justifying
excuses.
And now
Isaiah sees
himself
because he
sees God.
And something
new is
entering his
heart.
Humility.
See,
the most
telling
indicator
that God's
grace is
renewing
us is
not when
we say
all the
right things
about his
grace,
but when
we stop
putting
ourselves
above
others and
even above
God.
It's when
he starts
breaking
our hearts.
Where was
the last
time you
lamented?
I mean
really
lamented
over your
sin.
Then
something
wonderful
happens.
A
seraph
circling the
throne of
God,
peels off
from his
flight path
and he
dives
straight for
Isaiah.
He's
holding a
burning coal
that he
took from
the altar
with tongs.
He's not
using the
tongs because
it's hot.
He took
this coal
with tongs
because he's
handling a
holy thing.
this thing,
this coal
belongs in
the place of
sacrifice and
atonement and
forgiveness.
And with it,
the seraph
touches
Isaiah's
dirty mouth.
And it
doesn't hurt
him.
It doesn't
burn him.
It actually
heals him.
The seraph
says,
your guilt
is taken
away and
your sin
is atoned
for.
What we
must see
in the
context of
the whole
Bible is
that this
burning coal
symbolizes
the finished
work of
the Lord
Jesus on
the cross.
Jesus went
to the place
of sacrifice.
He's dying.
Love is the
only power
that can
awaken
dead people
to God
and awaken
as he
does.
He comes
to us
today.
through the
Holy Spirit
and says
again,
your guilt
is taken
away,
your sin
is atoned
for.
Welcome
into the
overwhelming
delight of
my presence.
And when
the magnitude
of that
grace
touches
Isaiah,
he is
awakened
to live
for God.
Who am I
going to send?
Pick me,
pick me.
I now
want to live
for your
glory.
You see,
at least
one major
purpose
in God
revealing
who he
is,
his
magnus,
is so
that we,
like Isaiah,
might experience
his compassion,
his mercy,
his grace,
and his
forgiveness.
For us to
effectively
magnify God,
it has to
be so
much more
than certain
external
behaviors.
This is the
warning of
Isaiah the
prophet and
the people
of God
in Isaiah.
God,
if we're
not careful,
we can be
like them,
we can
settle into
a pattern
of dutiful
behavior
where we
fulfill our
obligations
to God,
where we
say the
right things,
orthodox
faith.
See,
relationship
with God
can so
easily
become
about
duty
and
obligation
and
loyalty
and
lips.
When we
are settled
into that
position,
we may
even
fulfill
our
duty
at
great
personal
cost.
We may
even
give
more
and
sacrifice
more,
just
like
the
Pharisees
and
the
teachers
of
the
law.
And
Jesus
called
them
hypocrites.
He
cursed
them.
He
quoted
Isaiah
to them
in
Matthew
15.
He
says,
these
people
honor me
with their
lips,
but their
hearts
are far
from
me.
They
worship
me
in
vain.
They
magnify
me
in
vain.
Just
like
Isaiah
before
this
encounter,
lips
that
said
the
right
things
but a
heart
that
wasn't
in
it.
What's
missing
for the
Pharisees,
the
tax
collectors?
What's
missing
for
Isaiah?
The
affections.
genuine
magnification
is seeing
God's
glory
and being
moved
in all
of our
life,
mind
and
affections,
lips
and heart.
You see,
genuine
worship
is based
on the
mind's
perception
of
historical
and biblical
truth,
the revelation
of God's
glory as
he has
spoken it.
glory
giving
requires
solid
intellectual
biblical
truth.
It is
not the
frenzied
emotion,
emotional
product of
manipulation
or
gimmickry.
But
friends,
that's not
our problem
here at
St.
Paul's.
We're not
in danger
of
emotionalism.
We're not
in danger
of frenzied
gimmickry.
Far from
it,
in fact.
Our
problem is
more the
understanding
that there
is no
genuine
worship
where
feelings
for God
are not
quickened.
That's
our
problem.
The
understanding
that there
is no
genuine
worship,
no genuine
magnification
of God
where
feelings
for God
are not
quickened.
There
is not
true
worship
where the
heart is
far from
God.
The
heart's
approach
to God
happens
in the
quickening
of our
feelings
for God.
Where
feelings
are dead,
so is
worship,
so is
magnification.
You see,
God wants
us to
love him
according
to
Deuteronomy
6.5.
He wants
us to
delight
ourselves
in him
in
Psalm
37.4.
He wants
us to
worship
him with
gladness
according
to
Psalm
100.
In
fact,
he condemns
dutiful
obedience
where there
is no
gladness
and no
joy in
him in
Deuteronomy
28.4.
Now,
Nat and
I are
marking
20 years
of marriage
at the
end of
January
next year.
Thank
you.
If I
buy her
flowers,
that's not a
big if,
that's more
likely when I
buy her
flowers,
I
must put
that in
my
diary.
She,
so imagine
this,
I buy her
flowers and
she is
overjoyed and
she thanks
me.
You know,
first time in
20 years.
No,
it's not.
No,
it's not.
Imagine if
my response
to her at
that point
is,
well,
don't mention
it,
it's actually
my duty.
You know,
20 years
and so on,
it's what I'm
required to
do.
I mean,
I read it
online,
20 years,
you must
get flowers.
You know,
I must do
this,
I must
sacrifice my
money and
I must
sacrifice my
time to
go to the
floristry.
How do you
think she
would respond
to that?
It would
insult her
honor and
the relationship.
she is
honored when
I sacrifice
and I
give because
it is my
delight to
do so.
And frankly,
she can tell
the difference.
So here's
the thing.
If we are
doing everything
for the glory
of God
out of
sense of
duty,
if it is
a great
sacrifice
for us,
if you
struggle to
gather
for
magnification,
then it's
quite possible
that is
revealing where
your treasure
truly is.
If it's a
great sacrifice
to do
anything for
the glory
of God,
it shows
what we
value more
than God.
When he
is our
greatest
treasure,
then choosing
him over
lesser things,
that's not a
sacrifice at
all.
And so
friends, if
you find
yourself in
that place
at the
moment where
it's duty,
you have
not felt
your
affections
for God
rise at
all as
you've
engaged with
him in
his word
or in
corporate
worship at
all,
then don't
be content
with that.
we must
do what
Isaiah
does here,
we must
gaze on
his
magnificence,
gaze at,
delight in
his power,
his perfection,
his beauty,
and his
mercy,
that's when
our worship
and our
service of
him will
glorify him.
God is
dishonored when
all of our
worship and
our service
of him is
a duty.
And if
you find
yourself right
here in
this moment
thinking of
intellectual
biblical
arguments to
try and undo
what I've
just said,
be wary,
be cautious
right now.
God
desires that
we see
him,
that we
gaze on
him regularly
in his
word,
that we
savor his
greatness
and his
mercy and
his forgiveness
and his
acceptance
and serve
him with
all of our
lives,
with joy
and with
gladness
and our
lips and
our hearts.
Our
church's
purpose
statement
deliberately
connects
God's
glory and
our joy
together as
one.
we exist
to treasure
Jesus for
God's
glory and
the joy
of all
peoples.
You and
I were
made for
the express
purpose of
magnifying God
at all times,
in all places,
in every
circumstance.
And it is a
delight to be
able to do
that Sunday
by Sunday.
As Rachel
said at the
beginning,
enjoying Jesus
together,
that's a
delight.
and can I
say,
this is a
glimpse of
what we're
doing here
this Sunday
is a
glimpse of
what we
were created
and we
were redeemed
for.
This is
what we
will delight
to do
for all
of eternity
with the
angels around
the throne.
More like
the Habakkuk
2.
as we
gaze at
his throne.
The
arrogance of
people who
say,
I can't
wait to
get to
heaven so
that I
can give
God the
questions that
I want
him to
answer.
No.
You will
see him
and you
will fall
and your
list of
questions will
be crumpled
up and
thrown away.
They will
become
insignificant in
his presence.
how we
engage with
this Sunday
by Sunday
is a
reflection of
whether we
are living out
God's purpose
for our lives
the rest of
the week.
Our purpose
and our
pleasure is
found when
we find it
in his
glory.
We exist to
magnify this
God 24
hours a day
and find our
deepest pleasure
in him.