WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.900 and now let's read together let's turn in our bibles to psalm number 95 00:00:06.900 --> 00:00:14.640 on page 602 if you're using the church bible psalm number 95 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:20.800 and we will think together about the god who is king 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:39.880 psalm 95 come let us sing for joy to the lord let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:48.500 let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song for the lord is the great 00:00:48.500 --> 00:00:56.140 god the great king above all gods in his hand are the depths of the earth and the mountain peaks 00:00:56.140 --> 00:01:05.939 belong to him the sea is his for he made it and his hands formed the dry land come let us bow down 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:15.340 in worship let us kneel before the lord our maker for he is our god and we are the people of his 00:01:15.340 --> 00:01:25.500 pasture the flock under his care today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as you did at 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:33.620 meribah as you did that day at massa in the desert where your fathers tested and tried me though they 00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:41.539 had seen what i did for 40 years i was angry with that generation i said they are a people whose hearts 00:01:41.539 --> 00:01:52.000 go astray and they have not known my ways so i declared on oath in my anger they shall never enter 00:01:52.000 --> 00:02:00.579 my rest okay so this is the the summary and the climax of where as a church we've been for the last 00:02:00.579 --> 00:02:06.840 ten weeks and we've been following the outline of a book called none like him written by a lady called 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:15.000 jen wilkin exploring some of the the qualities the characteristics of god that mark him out as truly 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:24.520 unique yes so we thought about god who has no limits he cannot be contained or measured the god who can be 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:34.560 truly known but never fully known because our minds cannot comprehend his infinite greatness and we thought 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:43.460 about a god who is self-existent who is fully self-sufficient unlike us who depend on so many different 00:02:43.460 --> 00:02:55.219 people god depends on no one we reflected on the god who is eternal and unchanging the god who possesses 00:02:55.219 --> 00:03:04.600 all wisdom and power who occupies all space and all along the way we've been seeing god is unlike us in 00:03:04.600 --> 00:03:13.080 those qualities and that's a good thing for us and it leads us logically to this final truth since that's who 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:24.240 god is therefore it stands to reason and it's good news that god is king the god of the bible is presented to us 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:32.080 as the king who has every right to sit on the throne of the universe and more personally for us who has the 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:42.020 right to the devotion and worship of every human heart and the bible it is given to us as god's word to reveal 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:51.800 his identity to reveal his works to us so that we would respond to him appropriately one of the things 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:57.520 that we would have been taught as children i'm sure and one of the things that we as parents teach our children 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:06.560 is to recognize and then respect authority figures so it begins at the home children to respect mum and dad but then 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:09.199 also teachers and the police and the police and the police and the police and the various authorities 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:16.899 that make up our society we recognize and we treat them in the appropriate manner 00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:23.860 now i don't know if any of you some of you i know have done the course called christianity explored there's 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:31.819 there's a story that that rico tice who kind of narrates that course he tells of being 00:04:31.819 --> 00:04:41.399 at a posh london dinner party and he's waiting in a lobby waiting to be welcomed into the room as one 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:47.300 of the guests and he's standing there in the lobby with another fellow guest and so he says you know 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:52.939 for 10 minutes or so there's a little bit of awkward chit chat and then they fall into a sort of semi and 00:04:52.939 --> 00:05:01.159 his part uncomfortable silence and he said he had this incredible shock when it struck him 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:09.160 after the event that the person he was in the lobby with was none other than prince william his future 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:15.240 king was there not more than a couple of meters away from him but he didn't recognize it and he felt 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:22.800 really sad that he'd missed the chance to speak to his prince the one who would be king now those kind 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:29.000 of stories are amusing mistaken identity it's not a big deal but when it comes to god that's tragedy 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:36.839 if we reflect on god as he's revealed in the bible and it doesn't move our hearts to worship and 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:44.579 obedience then that's tragic if we discover in the bible the story of jesus god's son and god's king 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:52.319 and it doesn't move us to worship then that is a tragedy to give him anything less than all the 00:05:52.319 --> 00:06:01.180 devotion of our hearts is to miss the whole point of life we are creatures he is the creator we were 00:06:01.180 --> 00:06:10.560 created in order to be worshiping beings to know him to enjoy him and to bring glory to him we owe our 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:18.100 lives to him every good gift that we enjoy comes from him all the security that we have is a gift from him 00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:27.680 and he offers to us true life true love and true joy that comes from knowing him through jesus his son 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:36.660 our savior so let's think together about what this psalm says to us about the god who is king 00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:43.260 i want to concentrate first on verses three to five where we really have the statement that god is king 00:06:43.259 --> 00:06:52.180 and to recognize that this is both the message and the mission of god's church of god's people 00:06:52.180 --> 00:06:59.420 so let's just read those verses together again for the lord is the great god the great king above all 00:06:59.420 --> 00:07:06.659 gods in his hand are the depths of the earth and the mountain peaks belong to him the sea is his for he 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:15.300 made it and his hands formed the dry land okay so this is psalm 95 and it's part of a wider section 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:23.960 psalms 93 to 100 form a collection known as the the royal psalms the big idea being that over against 00:07:23.960 --> 00:07:31.740 the idols of the nations and over against human independence and rejection of god god stands alone 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:40.300 as the one true king people may try and resist him or reject him or ignore him but that does not alter 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:50.240 the fact that god reigns and rules as king it's the point of verse three over against any false gods 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:58.699 over against anything that we might consider worthy of our devotion the god of the bible is infinitely 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:06.300 greater higher and more worthy he is in a class of his own 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:14.699 and part of the way that the psalmist develops that in verses four and five goes back to the creation 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:22.800 story using this wonderful imagery to say that our world is both in verse five handcrafted his hands 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:33.840 formed the dry land and hand held here is the god who holds the oceans the depths of the earth in his hand 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:46.960 our almighty god the king makes and sustains everything so compared to any human king or any human government that 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:54.800 has some limited power and even that power is god given here we are presented with god alone as the true king 00:08:54.800 --> 00:09:05.720 the one creator god with absolute authority over everything and every one now for some people today i guess that 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:16.320 would generate a level of suspicion towards god in a culture and society where authority isn't always approved of 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:27.160 what does the psalmist think uh about god as king well he celebrates because he knows 00:09:27.160 --> 00:09:35.280 that unlike human powers and human kings who can sometimes use their power to abuse others god's rule is never 00:09:35.280 --> 00:09:36.400 harmful 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:49.240 we studied the unchanging loving nature of god so trusting in this god is security 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:57.860 not fear living under his rule is safe and good for us because ultimately it's what we were made for 00:09:57.860 --> 00:10:06.019 and so the message of the church and the mission of the church is to announce that god is king 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:15.519 and to live under his rule to bring god's kingdom on the earth and that was the story from the very 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:25.639 beginning look back in genesis with adam and eve god in his creative goodness supplied them with 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:32.980 everything good that they needed for life including a perfect relationship with himself that god met with 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:42.759 them and god spoke with them and god entrusted to them care for the earth and rule over the earth they were to be 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:53.580 under god as stewards under his good and loving rule and spreading that good and loving rule in the way that they 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:55.740 acted but then sin came 00:10:55.740 --> 00:10:59.240 and all of that was disrupted 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:05.259 when they decided no we want to have that god-like status for ourselves 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:09.940 we want to decide what good and evil looks like 00:11:09.940 --> 00:11:18.279 but god wasn't finished there god then chose out of his own sovereign goodness the nation of israel 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:24.019 and israel discovered god as the true king who was far far greater than pharaoh 00:11:24.019 --> 00:11:30.620 we read of that in the book of exodus god works these mighty miracles to show he's a greater king than pharaoh 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:34.139 that he's a superior god to the false gods of egypt 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:37.980 and god eventually set the people of israel free 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:40.299 he redeemed the nation why 00:11:40.299 --> 00:11:45.919 so that they would live as god's people under god's good and loving rule 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:55.319 and as the people lived under god's rule their lifestyle their worship their laws were intended to be 00:11:55.319 --> 00:12:01.659 god's light shining in the darkness that the other nations were to look in and say there's something 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:11.000 good and true and life-giving about israel's god israel's king i want that and they were to draw 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:20.320 people in but sadly as we read the old testament we discover a history where israel often engaged in 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:27.620 idolatry themselves where they chose time and again to reject god as king and where instead they pursued 00:12:27.620 --> 00:12:36.899 alternative gods and saviors but again god was not done what about in the new testament age 00:12:36.899 --> 00:12:46.139 well in the new testament age jesus came into the world announced as god's christ his anointed one 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:56.620 his chosen king and jesus comes to bring in the kingdom of god as god's king and so he performs these 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:04.579 mighty deeds these miracles as signposts of his glory and also signposts of his coming kingdom 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:10.940 and when jesus calmed storms and got rid of diseases and raised the dead he was giving people 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:15.759 a picture of what life would be like when he came again to renew all things 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:26.259 a picture of hope and jesus called the church to pray and to pursue your kingdom come your will be done 00:13:26.259 --> 00:13:34.160 on earth as it is in heaven calling us to submit to his rule calling others to come under 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:42.179 the good and loving rule of jesus our king and when we read the gospels how is jesus presented he's 00:13:42.179 --> 00:13:49.240 presented to us as the perfect king perfect in his obedience where even the best of kings like king 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:57.740 david they failed morally and spiritually jesus never did he is the truly obedient king he's also presented 00:13:57.740 --> 00:14:07.759 of course as our suffering and dying king representing his people there on the cross taking our sin on his 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:15.919 shoulders paying the price to set us free so we might live once again under god's good rule as god's people 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:24.480 and then he's presented to us as our resurrected king the death was not the end he won that decisive victory 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:32.120 over the powers of darkness and now he's returned to the glory of heaven as the exalted king so today 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:40.039 jesus rules as king of kings and lord of lords and and the church awaits jesus our returning king 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:48.180 that one day he's going to come and get rid of sin forever make everything new including his people so 00:14:48.179 --> 00:14:55.819 that we might live with him in perfect love and joy so this is our message and our mission that jesus is 00:14:55.819 --> 00:15:04.959 god's king he is the only way to know god he is the only way to live under the good and loving rule of god 00:15:04.959 --> 00:15:15.259 and so our summons the gospel summons is turn to him turn to jesus god's king submit your life to him 00:15:15.259 --> 00:15:21.240 pursue faith in him and enjoy the gift of eternal life 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:27.019 so god is king that's our message that's our mission 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:33.659 what about how do we respond according to this psalm well because god is the king 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:41.220 we should respond with joyful worship we see that from the beginning psalm 95 verse 1 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:49.240 come let us sing for joy to the lord let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:56.740 let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song 00:15:56.740 --> 00:16:02.160 psalm 95 throughout the history of the church has often been used as a call to worship 00:16:02.160 --> 00:16:08.560 to recognize the worth of god the king and to praise him with joy 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:16.719 i wonder if we've ever stopped to think why is it in the christian church that we are a church that 00:16:16.719 --> 00:16:24.979 sings why are we a singing religion what is it about god's kingship god's rule that causes 00:16:24.979 --> 00:16:32.919 joy and song in our hearts rather than anxiety what is it that gives us hope and assurance rather than 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:41.240 fear what is it about the rule of god that can allow us to rest in his arms rather than resisting him 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:51.159 or fearing him it's because the god of the bible is a god of love and a god of grace 00:16:51.159 --> 00:17:00.360 and god's love and god's grace frees us from that great temptation that adam and eve fell into 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:10.140 the temptation for ourselves to play god to try and save ourselves to try and be our own kings our own 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:21.360 lords and rulers perhaps you are familiar with the poem invictus by william henley or more likely 00:17:21.360 --> 00:17:26.460 if you're like me you'll know the only two lines that anybody ever seems to know of that poem where he 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:33.900 says i am the master of my fate i am the captain of my soul now that's a sentiment that's usually 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:41.920 celebrated today and prince harry has the invictus games that's a wonderful celebration of of human 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:51.720 spirit but taken to its extreme it sees us trying to dethrone god because we want that central place 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:59.600 in our own stories and we can see that since the garden of eden men and women and boys and girls have 00:17:59.600 --> 00:18:08.220 been fighting for that throne denying god his proper place of rule in our hearts and in our lives 00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:16.440 but not so with the psalmist here what has the psalmist discovered about god the king 00:18:16.440 --> 00:18:24.820 that serves as the antidote to that grasping for power what can he say to us to help us submit gladly 00:18:24.820 --> 00:18:36.880 and joyfully to god as king three ideas first one in verse number one the psalmist says let us shout 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:43.040 to the king to the king to the king to the king to the king to the king to the king to the king 00:18:43.040 --> 00:18:52.880 we worship we serve a king who provides security because a rock speaks of unchanging strength speaks 00:18:52.880 --> 00:19:01.360 to us of stability it speaks of a hiding place from danger we know this in the city we can think about 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:09.599 castle rock and edinburgh castle on the top that's the image when life spirals out of control for us 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:19.059 when we realize life is beyond our ability to manage or control we can hear god say we can hear jesus say 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:28.519 to us just as he said to his disciples do not be afraid for the i am is with you we have this god as 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:36.440 our king we have true security and when we have that we can rise or like jesus said towards the end 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:43.099 of the sermon on the mount that that him and his words are like a solid rock that we are to build our 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:48.379 lives on so that no matter what storm comes even the storm of god's judgment we will stand 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:54.360 because our lives are rooted on jesus the king 00:19:54.360 --> 00:20:03.160 so the psalmist will say to us that that knowing the the unchanging the all-powerful the all-wise the 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:08.120 ever-present the unlimited god of the universe knowing him and knowing he's for you 00:20:08.120 --> 00:20:17.900 that's a unique source of security far greater than money in the bank relationship career status 00:20:17.900 --> 00:20:27.060 any of those things so this king provides security but this king also provides salvation 00:20:27.060 --> 00:20:35.400 again in verse 1 now there's this invitation to shout aloud to the rock of our salvation so again let's 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:42.240 imagine just for a moment the israelites gathering through the generations to sing this song this song 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:48.279 of faith and they could look back and remember for example all those miracles in egypt the way pharaoh 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:55.259 was defeated so decisively at the red sea they could remember god providing for them in the wilderness 00:20:55.259 --> 00:21:02.259 they could look a bit further forward in their history to think about the conquest of canaan that god 00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:09.400 had promised them a land where they would dwell with him and the tiny nation of israel with god's help 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:17.540 was able to defeat nations much stronger than them because god fought for them or they could think 00:21:17.540 --> 00:21:23.860 about the judges the judges that god raised up in answer to the people's prayer when they were facing 00:21:23.860 --> 00:21:30.540 oppression and opposition and the people cry out god sent judges and they were empowered by god's spirit 00:21:30.540 --> 00:21:38.400 to secure freedom for that generation they could think about the great king david his defeat of goliath 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:45.259 his defeat of the nations expanding the territory of israel and defending the borders and all the while 00:21:45.259 --> 00:21:53.460 doing that as god's king there's an invitation to reflect on god's acts of salvation what about for us 00:21:53.460 --> 00:22:04.940 our hope our rest our joy is also found in a king who saves and for us his name is jesus jesus means 00:22:04.940 --> 00:22:15.940 god saves think with me for a moment about the criminal who died with jesus on the cross remember that story 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:22.600 jesus is hanging there and he's suffering and he's dying and the people are mocking him and there's large 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:29.160 scale rejection but one of the criminals dying there with him said lord remember me when you come into 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:37.160 your kingdom you can look on this dying man and recognize that he is utterly different to him 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:46.540 that he is in fact god's king and jesus said to him today you will be with me in paradise 00:22:46.540 --> 00:22:54.240 that for jesus the cross meant victory yes it looked like defeat but it it meant victory it meant 00:22:54.240 --> 00:23:03.720 salvation the cross is where our king enters into conquest against his enemies the cross is where jesus defeats 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:13.500 it's satan and the powers of sin and death securing for us forgiveness and new life and freedom as the 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:22.940 children of god and all of that coming as a gift of his grace to be received by faith so we are a church 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:32.200 that sings sings sings with joy because we have a rock who is our savior and this king he's not just our 00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:40.620 security he's not just our savior verses six and seven come let us bow down and worship let us kneel 00:23:40.620 --> 00:23:49.039 before the lord our maker for he is our god and we are the people of his pasture the flock under his care 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:59.039 this king this mighty powerful king is our shepherd god deliberately in the bible chose the image of 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:07.759 shepherd to speak of his kingly care and his personal care of his feeding his people guiding his people 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:16.859 protecting his people sustaining them and so it's no surprise then when jesus comes and he picks up that 00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:27.599 same imagery in john 10 declaring i am title for god the good shepherd the one who lays down his life 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:35.259 for his people the one who goes out to search for his people to bring them home the one who will ensure 00:24:35.259 --> 00:24:44.659 that none of his people are lost and so the psalm is helping us to see that trusting this king 00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:52.480 living gladly under his rule is for our ultimate good yes sometimes authority and power is abused but not 00:24:52.480 --> 00:25:01.700 by god the king not by jesus our king and that's good news for us personally you know when we when we find 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:07.820 times of sadness come we're confused by the circumstances that come into our lives 00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:14.919 or we're wrestling to make a wise decision in all of those moments and in all points in life we know that 00:25:14.919 --> 00:25:26.279 we are not on our own that our eternal self-sufficient unlimited god and savior is the shepherd who comes 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:35.740 alongside us and therefore the psalmist says to us trust and love and worship are the logical response 00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:45.779 to this god to this king but there's another response that we are called to from the second 00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:52.620 part of verse 7 down to verse 11 we're called to respond by hearing with faith 00:25:52.620 --> 00:26:00.819 as we read you probably noticed the tone of the psalm changing gone is the exuberant joy 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:10.539 now we're left with a stark warning from israel's past history today second part of verse 7 if you 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:19.319 hear his voice do not harden your hearts as you did at meribah as you did that day at massa in the desert 00:26:19.319 --> 00:26:25.619 where your fathers tested and tried me though they had seen what i did 00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:36.259 so here's the somber reality for us it is entirely possible to see the power and the glory of the 00:26:36.259 --> 00:26:44.939 eternal king and to be utterly unmoved by it this generation that's been referred to they saw all the 00:26:44.939 --> 00:26:52.299 miracles of god in egypt and in the wilderness and yet their hearts do not warm to god they did not 00:26:52.299 --> 00:27:00.940 gladly respond to him as king israel had been set free they'd been moved out of slavery in egypt by 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:08.759 god's power with god himself leading them and yet we find them testing god quarreling against god 00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:20.700 grumbling against god testing him refusing to take him at his word a generation marked by a horrible 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:30.799 unbelief and it'd be really easy to judge them and dismiss them and say well that was awful but we 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:38.500 would never do the same but it makes sense for us to reflect because the psalmist says to us we need to 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:48.000 reflect so that we can learn from that negative example so in our own lives to greater and lesser extent 00:27:48.000 --> 00:28:03.160 we have seen we have seen we have heard of what god the king has done for us the bible speaks of god as creator god as sustainer the god who gives us every good gift 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:07.279 the one who sent jesus to be our lord and our savior 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:21.559 but yet is faith always our first response if we're honest with ourselves i imagine we discover that we too can be slow to listen 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:31.759 we can be stubborn to change we can be resistant to god's rule to god's authority we can be hard-hearted 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:44.819 when faced with the glory of god our king so the psalm poses a question to us do i respond to god with faith 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:53.460 and obedience which voice do i listen to the one that calls us to sing and to rest and rejoice in god 00:28:53.460 --> 00:29:03.779 or the voice within us that wants to be god like there is an urgent call here today if you hear his voice 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:15.160 don't grumble against him don't test him instead hear with faith so that you might enter god's rest 00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:23.440 see verse 11 so i declared on oath in my anger they shall never enter my rest that's what it's 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:32.960 what's at stake here god's rest equals god's salvation it means god and his people together 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:43.059 for them that was represented by the promised land for us that's eternal glory jesus our king came to 00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:52.700 secure our salvation our rest for us do we respond to him with faith and obedience 00:29:52.700 --> 00:30:00.160 do we find rest in him rest from struggling to to be our king to try and be master of our own fate 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:09.740 instead to submit to him to trust him to follow his way and not ours do we trust in jesus and turn to him 00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:16.140 and rest from struggling to secure our identity because the bible is clear that when we trust in jesus 00:30:16.140 --> 00:30:21.600 we become children we become children of god he delights in us that's who we are we are redeemed 00:30:21.600 --> 00:30:29.020 sons and daughters of the king we don't need to fight to earn our salvation we don't need to struggle 00:30:29.020 --> 00:30:38.280 to prove ourselves god already approves of us when our faith is in jesus and there is rest therefore 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:48.539 from worrying about our future christianity presents assurance not because of our work not because of 00:30:48.539 --> 00:30:56.319 our faith but who our faith is in we can have assurance when we're trusting entirely on what jesus did for us 00:30:56.319 --> 00:31:04.200 now at the cross through his resurrection and what he's doing for us now as our king he has secured 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:10.480 the future glory for his people which is true rest 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:15.539 this is our king 00:31:15.539 --> 00:31:24.620 our security our savior our shepherd the one who we are called to respond to with joy and to hear with 00:31:24.620 --> 00:31:31.960 faith so as our series on on the character of god comes to a close the question facing all of us is 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:45.279 will you and i entrust our lives to jesus god's king will we live for his glory and know his joy 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:47.120 let's pray