Good morning. It is wonderful to be back with you again, and it is a wonderful privilege to share the scriptures with you.
Now, I must just tell you, it sounds very loud. Is it loud for you? It sounds very loud.
I must tell you something that happened this morning. On the way to church, we were in the bus, and we said,
let's pray for church this morning. And so my youngest daughter, she's three years old, she said, she prayed this.
She said, I pray, Jesus, that Daddy will enjoy and have fun preaching.
And I thought that was very important and very clever of her to pick up, because this morning, my wife, Claire, said to me,
you know, sometimes when you preach, you look very angry.
And on Friday night, we had CG together. Chris and Eric led us in a brilliant time of CG together.
But during the time of worship, Graham took a photo, and he sent it to me, and I thought, I looked like I was in the dentist's chair.
I looked like the dentist was doing some operation on me. I looked so serious, but actually I was enjoying it.
And so I want you to know, sometimes I can get serious. Sometimes I can look very intense, but I'm actually having fun.
So I'm going to try and smile some more. I'm going to try and speak slowly.
If I look like I'm not having fun, I am having fun. And I hope you have fun as well.
Okay? So Jesus, help us to all have fun this morning.
This morning, we are in week two of this series called The Church That Jesus Is Building.
And we're looking at some of the foundational truths that the Bible tells us.
This is the way that Jesus builds His church.
And so we're asking the questions is, what does it mean to be the church?
How does God go about building His church?
And so as a family, we're looking at these foundational truths in Scripture about how Jesus goes about building His church.
And as a church, we've gone through a lot of transition in the last two years.
We've changed venues where we've met on Sundays.
Our offices changed. There's been staff changes.
Tobin and Christina, who planted this church, had to go back to America.
So many transitions and changes.
And in a way, we are taking these four weeks to lift our eyes or to fix our eyes on something deeper than merely who's leading this church.
We're fixing our eyes on Jesus and say, what does it mean for Jesus to lead His church and to build His church?
Now, last week I said that the implications of these messages are far more communal than individualistic.
The implication of these sermons isn't, this is how it affects my going to work tomorrow.
These messages tend to speak to us as a gospel family.
What does it mean to be part of this church?
What does it mean to be part of Watermark?
And if you are new to Watermark or you're looking in, or maybe you're not even sure about Jesus and the Bible,
this series is designed to help us think about the question, what would it look like if I were to be part of a church family like this?
And so, last Sunday we looked at Psalm 127.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those that build it labor in vain.
Unless God is watching over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
And we looked at the fact that how the church isn't just a gathering of gifted individuals who try their best.
The church is something that God is at work at.
Unless Jesus is front and central of the church, all our best efforts are going to be in vain.
Now, this morning, let's consider this passage that was read to us.
Isaiah 66, verse 1 and 2.
This is what God says.
Thus says the Lord, the heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
What is the house that you would build for me?
All these things my hand has made, says the Lord, and so they came to be.
But this is the one that I will look to, those who are humble and contrite and tremble at my word.
Four things we're going to learn about God this morning.
We're going to learn about God and His church, God and His favor or His blessing,
God and His word, and then the word that rescues and redeems.
Okay?
So that's where we're going to go.
So let's consider the context.
The book of Isaiah is written around 700 BC.
And it's written prophetically to the nation of Israel.
The nation of Israel have lost their way a little bit.
And they're about to be taken into exile into Babylon.
God has warned them because they're not listening to Him.
They're not taking His word seriously.
That God is going to send the Babylonians and they're going to be a tool in God's hand to discipline His people.
And so it happens.
But Isaiah writes and he says,
You'll be in Babylon, not forever, for a certain length of time.
And then God will restore you.
He'll bring you back from exile back to Jerusalem.
And he writes to this time when they're going to come back.
And so once again they would come back to the promised land.
And it would be just like they went the first time.
It would be back home again.
And one of the first things that they were to do when they get back home is to rebuild the temple.
Remember Solomon built this magnificent temple.
The glory of God was there.
The presence of God was there.
And so when the Babylonians came, they pulled down the temple, destroyed it.
And one of the first things that Israel has to do is to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
And so they do.
And it's hard work.
There's some disruptions.
There's some persecution.
But eventually they rebuild the temple.
And it's an amazing achievement.
It's a stunning achievement.
God's house has been rebuilt.
And God's presence, they're hoping, is going to dwell in His temple again.
And so the temple is finally constructed.
The priests are ready.
The holy of holies is restored.
The altar where you bring your worship and your sacrifices constructed.
Everyone is excited.
Everyone is getting ready.
God's house has been rebuilt.
And so the people are thinking, we've done it.
We've achieved this amazing thing.
What could possibly go wrong now?
And look at what God says.
Heaven is my throne.
The earth is my footstool.
What is the house that you would build for me?
All these things my hands have made.
And so they came to be.
First thing.
God and His church.
Notice this.
The people of God are anticipating this amazing day.
Having rebuilt God's house, they were very happy and very proud of themselves.
The center of worship, the center of Israel had been torn down and they were the ones to rebuild it.
They were so proud of themselves.
And yet God says, what is the house that you think you can build for me?
Don't you realize that every single thing in the whole universe is as a result of my hands?
Says God.
In other words, God is saying, you're feeling very confident and proud of yourselves because you think by your own brilliance, your own dedication, your own hard work, you built a magnificent place for me.
As if I, God, am now indebted to your genius, your dedication.
But don't you realize there is not one dot in all creation which is beyond my sovereign hand and outside of my realm.
And the people of God were thinking, finally, God will be at rest.
For the last 70 years, we've been in Babylon and His house has been torn down.
And God must be very anxious because the temple is in ruins and He must be restless.
And God must be very anxious.
But finally, God can be at rest because we've built Him a house.
Thank goodness God has us on His side.
Isn't God so fortunate that we are on His team and have built Him His house?
God can finally be at rest.
And yet God says, the whole universe is my throne.
All these things my hand has made.
What is the house you'd built for me?
The place of my rest.
And just think of the imagery.
The expansiveness of the cosmos.
The hundreds of billions of light years of space.
As creation, as human beings, we haven't even found the end of the universe.
It's ever expanding.
Hundreds of billions of light years of space.
And God says, not even all of that is enough to fill my house.
That is merely a throne, a chair for me to sit on.
And the whole earth with billions of people in it, what is that?
It's merely a footstool.
And so earlier in Isaiah 40, God says the same thing.
He says, lift your eyes to the starry host.
Who created all of these?
Who brings each one of them out by number?
I call them each by name.
By the greatness of my might and because I am strong in power, not one star is missing.
And so the question God asks is, Israel, what kind of God do you think I am that I need you to build a house for me?
If the sovereign God of the Bible truly is the maker of heaven and earth, as the Bible says, the one who brought into being every galaxy and every star and every solar system, the one who knows each and every creature in the ocean depths, the ones we haven't even discovered.
If God is the one who knows the answers to every single mystery, like what is dark matter?
Where did life really originate?
And even questions we haven't even thought of yet.
God already knows the answers.
If this is even remotely true, why does Israel think they have done God a great favor by building him a house as if God needed their help?
You see, they thought their relationship with God was transactional.
They do something for God and then God will do something for them.
If they are good to God, God will be good back to them.
And actually, if we think about it, that's the way that almost all of us approach the gods in our life.
Whether you are religious or whether you are secular.
Whether you believe in the God of the Bible or not.
We all have these gods that we hope in and trust in.
And we think that if we are good to them, they will pay us back.
Expect something in the turn.
Whether it's the God of the Bible or the universe or karma.
We have this expectation of this transaction between us and these gods.
And in the book of Acts chapter 17, the apostle Paul notices this.
Remember, Paul is walking around Athens.
It's a very intellectual city.
And he walks across an idol.
A kind of stone that has written on it to the unknown God.
And what probably happened was that somebody in Athens, maybe they were sick and they got healed miraculously.
Or maybe a business deal went well.
And they thought, God has been good to us.
I better be good back to God.
Or maybe their child was sick and they were hoping that God would be good to them or look favorably upon them.
And so they thought, if I make this idol for God, if I build this temple for God, whoever that God is, then maybe he will be good back to me.
And so he builds this temple and he writes, I don't know who you are, but to the unknown God, please look upon me favorably.
Be good to my business.
Good to my family.
And Paul writes this.
He says, he walks around and he says, what you worship is unknown.
Let me tell you about him.
Let me tell you about this God.
The God who made the world and everything in it.
Being Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands as though this God needed anything.
Since this God gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
And Paul is saying to these Athenians, he's saying, what kind of God do you serve if you think that he needs you and the work of your hands?
Don't you realize there's one true God and he is sovereign over everything, including his church?
And friends, what Paul says to these philosophers is the exact same thing that God says to the people of Israel.
And it's the same thing that God says to us, Watermark.
He says, they were proud of the fact that they were the ones to rebuild and establish God's presence.
God says, don't you realize my hands are the ones that bring this all about?
And so, Watermark, I want to say to you that I consider it the hugest privilege in the world to be a part of this family.
For Clara and I and our girls, we just consider it such a wonderful privilege.
We have not had the privilege of meeting Tobin and Christina, the couple that did a fantastic job in planting this church.
Founding this church.
Building it up to be a strong and solid church.
I hope to get to meet them one day.
And I'm so grateful for the elders and the staff that we get to work with.
It really is.
This is a fantastic church.
And it is a huge privilege for us to be a part of it.
And I pray that for years to come, we as a church will continue to be fruitful.
I pray that God will bless us.
I pray that God will look upon us with favor.
I pray that maybe in years to come, we might even get to plant churches.
And we'll be a blessing to other churches in Asia and in Hong Kong.
But let us remember this.
Watermark, let us never become so proud as to think that we have done God a great favor.
As if God is indebted to our hard work.
For He Himself gives to life, to mankind, life and breath and everything.
What is the house that we can build for Him?
All these things are a work of His hand.
And because of His grace, He brings them into being.
Okay?
The sovereign God and His church.
Secondly, God and His favor.
Or the favor of God.
The favor of God.
Now, look what happens in verse 2.
If you've got your bulletin there, your Bible.
Look at verse 2.
God says,
All these things my hand has made, and so they came to be.
And then He says,
And this is the one that I will look to.
He who is humble and contrite in spirit.
So, God has just clarified who the power behind the throne is.
God has just clarified that He is sovereign.
He is the one that brings all things into being.
He is God, and there is no one else like Him.
Everything is in His hands.
He is the one who sent them into exile,
and He is the one who is going to bring them back from exile.
And He is the one who has been at work building His church.
So, here's the question.
If God is sovereign,
if everything is in His hands,
how do we know whether God is going to bless our efforts as a church?
I mean, we get to work hard.
We're going to be hospitable.
We're going to do everything we can.
But ultimately, the future of Watermark Church is in God's hands,
not in the elders' hands.
We've got to be faithful.
But ultimately, our future is in God's hands.
So, how do we know whether God is going to bless us?
How do we know whether God is going to be favorable towards us?
Or whether God is just going to ask us just to work hard year in and year out?
Well, verse 2 tells us.
What does He say?
This is the one I will look to.
Or another translation says,
This is the one I will esteem.
This is the one I will be favorable to.
Those who are humble and contrite in spirit.
Friends, I hope you know,
God is not in the least bit interested in the size of our church.
Do you know that?
God is not in the least bit interested in how big or small,
how trendy, how popular it is,
whether our worship team is writing songs that are on iTunes every week,
whether the preacher is cool or not cool.
Those things don't bother God in the least.
Sometimes, let me say this,
in South Africa, where we've come from,
the churches around there often look at big churches,
popular churches,
and you think,
Wow, they're doing something right.
They must be doing something right.
They are big and they're growing.
They must be doing something right.
Not at all.
Sometimes, in Cape Town,
the city we come from,
we look at small churches,
and we think,
They must be doing right.
Because if they're big,
they've sold out.
They're just trying to be cool and relevant.
The small churches,
they're the ones that are really doing it right.
Friends, God doesn't care at all
whether your church is big or small.
How popular or how cool it is,
those things mean nothing.
What does God look to?
What pleases God?
What impresses Him?
What does God say?
This is the one that I will esteem.
This is the one that I will look to with favor.
Those who are humble and contrite in spirit.
Those who are not enamored with themselves,
but are enamored with who God is.
And that's why, friends,
confession and repentance
is such an important discipline
in the life of the church.
It should be part of our daily lives.
As we read our Bibles in the morning,
we should read what's in God's Word,
and we should say,
God, I don't see that in my own life.
I confess that.
I'm sorry, won't you forgive me?
We should acknowledge the difference
between who God is in our own lives.
It's so important to humble ourselves daily before God
because God says,
this is the one that I will look to.
Those who are humble and contrite in spirit.
You see, the Israelites,
they thought,
we built the temple.
It looks amazing.
And the priests have been down to Causeway Bay,
and they've got their Gucci outfits,
and the band is playing indie rock
and Hebrew jazz,
and everything's looking wonderful.
And the furnaces are beautiful,
and they think,
God must be so pleased with us.
And God says,
this is the one I will look to.
Those who are humble and contrite in spirit.
Barry Webb said it like this.
He said,
the physical restoration of the temple
was not enough.
Unless there was spiritual renewal,
the people would simply repeat
the sins of the past.
Isaiah was calling God's people
away from the ugly distortion of true faith,
which inevitably reasserts itself
where there's no heartfelt contrition before him.
Where heartfelt contrition is lacking,
worship in whatever building
is no better than pagan superstition.
Watermark,
I want to ask us
that as we go into this season,
let us not buy the lie
that if we can just get this right,
we can just get that right,
if we can just get the preacher
to wear decent clothes,
or we can just get the coffee right,
or the good chocolate brownie
in the welcome pack,
then we're going to,
our church is going to be fine.
Those things mean nothing to King Jesus.
Watermark,
the one thing that we really need,
the only thing that as a church
we really need,
you cannot buy
with all the gold in the world.
You cannot secure it
with all the connections in the world,
all the networks.
You cannot earn it
with all the hard work in the world.
The one thing we need,
we need the favor of God.
We need the presence of God.
We need the life of the Holy Spirit.
We need the power of God
and the work of our lives.
And how does God pour his favor on us?
This is the one I will look to you.
Those who are humble
and contrite in spirit.
God who blesses us.
With his favor.
May this be true of us.
May God look upon us favorably
because we are those
who are humble and contrite.
Now, thirdly,
so God and his church,
God and his favor,
God and his word.
Now, look again at your bulletins.
Look at the second half of verse 2.
What does God say there?
He says,
this is the one that I will look to.
Those who are humble.
Oh, let me ask you this question
before we get there.
Sorry.
What does this humility
and contrition look like?
How does God measure humility?
How does God know
whether we are really humble before him
or whether we are just,
you know,
putting on a facade,
whether maybe we are just saying
the right things
to try and pretend we're humble,
we act humble.
How do we know
whether in our heart of hearts
we are dependent on God
or we are self-reliant?
Well, look at what verse 2 says.
It says,
this is the one I will look to.
He who is humble
and contrite in spirit
and,
what does it say?
Trembles at my word.
Friends,
one of the most important things
for us to realize
is that our attitude
towards God's word
in many ways
is a reflection
of our attitude
towards God himself.
The way that God
measures our humility
towards him
is in our humility
towards God's word.
Do we sit over God's word
in judgment of it
as if we have
the final authority
as to what God's word say
or do we let God's word
speak to us?
Does our obedience to God
depend on whether
God's word agrees
without circumstances
or do we let God's word
have the final say?
Do we see God's word
as good advice
with our finances
or our relationships?
Who we get to date?
Who we marry?
How we respond to people
that have mistreated us?
Who we get to forgive?
Is God's word good advice
or is God's word authority
in our lives?
This is one of the things
that I must just say
I so admire about Chris
as I've got to work
with Chris
the last few weeks.
Chris has an unquenchable humility
and awe
before God's word.
Those of us that were there
on Friday night,
wasn't Friday night
a fantastic evening?
As we got into God's word,
John's gospel,
Chris and Eric
just opened up
God's word for us.
I want to encourage you
if you're not in a CG,
now's a fantastic time
to join one
as we go through
John's gospel together.
But friends,
are we interested
in God's word
or are we in awe before it?
Do we tremble
before the word
of our boss?
Do we tremble
before social media
or Facebook says about us
or Instagram says us?
God says,
this is the one
I look to.
Those who are in awe
before my word,
who take my word seriously.
And the reason why
God takes it so seriously
is because God's word,
his scripture,
is not just a means
of communicating ideas.
God's word isn't just
a communication of thoughts
or what God likes.
In many ways,
God's word is an extension
of himself.
That's why in Hebrews chapter 4
it says God's word is living,
it's active,
it's sharp,
it speaks to the depths
of our souls.
God's word speaks
to what's really going
on in our hearts
because God's word
is almost an extension
of himself.
And so,
this is what it means
that it's impossible
to break one of God's commands
without also almost
breaking relationship
with God himself.
This is surprising,
but it's actually true
of all our relationships.
I remember,
let me be honest with you.
When I was a child,
I had this problem.
I used to get angry
very easily.
My grandfather
had a problem with anger.
My father had a problem
with anger
and it somehow
got passed on to me.
And so,
I could get angry quickly.
And I went and saw
some people
and some professional people
helped me
and it kind of died away.
I thought I've dealt with it.
Until my children
reached about the age
of three
and I found this monster
coming out of me again.
And there would be times
when my blood would boil
and I found myself
getting so angry.
And it happened
around the time
my eldest daughter
turned three
and this is why it happened.
Sometimes I would say
to my child,
Sierra,
don't do that.
Do you hear me?
Only to find
a few months later
her doing that exact thing.
Does that sound familiar
or does it only happen
in our household?
Okay.
Or to say,
Sierra,
please listen to me.
I'm asking you
to please do this.
Do you understand?
Only to find
her not to do it.
And when I found
my kids
rejecting my words,
what made me
so frustrated
is that I almost
took it as a rejection
of me myself.
It was almost
as if my children
were saying,
forget you dad,
what you think
means nothing to me.
Which let's be honest,
to a three year old
is maybe quite close
to what was happening,
right?
But actually,
we see this
in all of Scripture.
When we take
God's Word lightly,
when we are blase
about God's Word,
it's actually because
we are blase
about God Himself.
We see this
in Genesis
with Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve
didn't just sin
because they ate
some forbidden fruit.
It wasn't like
they just broke
rule 6.3
of the rule book.
Actually,
in disobeying God,
Adam and Eve
were rejecting
God's leadership
and God's lordship
over their life.
We see this
in the book of Samuel
with King Saul.
Remember,
King Saul
is the first king
of Israel
and God
told Saul
to go into battle.
There's some enemies
that are coming
to fight them
and He says,
go and defeat
their enemies
before they defeat you.
And so He goes
to the Malachites
but God says
to Saul,
don't bring home
any of the spoil
of war.
Defeat their enemies
and then leave everything.
Don't bring home
any spoil of war.
And so what does Saul do?
He goes,
they defeat their enemy
and then he brings home
a whole lot
of the spoils of war.
And he brings home
some of the animals
and Samuel comes home
and says,
Saul,
what's this bleating
of sheep
that I can hear?
Where do these animals
come from?
And Saul puts
a religious spin on it.
He says,
oh,
we thought we'd bring
home some animals
to worship God.
We thought we'd
make a sacrifice
and worship God.
He puts this
religious spin on it.
And this is what
Samuel says.
He says,
does the Lord
delight in burnt offerings
and sacrifices
as much as in
obeying His voice?
For to obey God
is better than
many sacrifices.
To listen is better
than the fat
of many rams.
For disobedience
is the same
as witchcraft.
You see,
the problem
wasn't that Saul
didn't understand
God's word
or that he didn't
hear it properly.
Actually,
in his heart,
he wanted to be
his own God.
He wanted to be
his own Lord.
He wanted to be
his own king.
And friends,
when we don't take
God's word seriously,
it's because we don't
take God seriously
himself.
When we sit over
God's word
and judgment of it,
it's because we want
to maintain the right
to be our own king
and our own Lord
in our lives.
But actually,
and what it means
is as a church,
as church leaders,
as elders,
if we use God's word
to say what we want
to say,
if we twist it
and manipulate it
and we take it
out of context
to say things
that we wanted to say
rather than what
God's word really says,
actually as leaders,
we are using God
to build our own empire,
which in the end
will only be a monument
to our own futility.
And so,
Watermark,
whatever the future
of our church looks like,
wherever God takes us,
whatever decisions
we make into the future,
I pray that this
will be true of us.
May we always,
only,
and forever
be rooted
and established
and built
on the perfect
and inerrant
word of God,
the authority of God.
I pray that more
than ever,
we will be a church
that loves the scriptures
because we love
the God of the scriptures.
I pray that Watermark
will be a church
that submits
to the authority
of scripture
because we submit
to God himself.
May we be a church
that is regularly
reading and applying
God's word to our lives,
spending time
in God's word
every day.
Maybe as we,
as you,
before you go to work,
get into God's word.
As you wait for the bus
at the bus stop,
read God's word.
As you're on the bus,
be meditating
and praying
through the Psalms.
Maybe in your lunch hour,
once a week,
take some time
and go and pray
and pray through
God's word.
But I pray
that we will be a church
that attracts the favor
and the blessing of God
because this church
is a church
that is humble
and contrite
and trembles
before God's word.
Fourth thing,
the word that rescues
and redeems.
Now,
God's word
came to the people
of Israel.
Came many times,
but there was a problem.
And the problem was
that they didn't receive it.
Now,
the reason they didn't receive
God's word
wasn't because they were,
you know,
dull
or a little bit thick
or because they weren't
very intelligent.
That wasn't the reason.
The reason that they,
the problem that they had
is the same problem
we have.
The reason they rejected
God's word
is the same reason
that we reject God's word.
And the reason is
because their hearts
were sick.
And the problem is
that our hearts are sick.
And so prophet after prophet
would come and bring them
God's word.
And some of the prophets,
like Jeremiah,
they threw down
a system,
a water well.
Isaiah,
they soared in two.
They killed him
and soared him in two.
Some of the prophets,
they listened to
for a short while
and then even they
rejected them
and didn't listen to them.
And so it wasn't long
before the people of God
rejected God's word
because they rejected
the God of the word.
And friends,
we do the same thing.
Almost all the problems
in our life
is because in some way
we don't believe
God's word.
We think we know better
than God's word.
It's the reason why
there's greed in the world.
It's the reason why
we have interpersonal relationships,
problems with our relationships.
It's the reason why
we don't get on with people.
And so the consequences
of this are always disastrous.
But thank God
that's not the end of the story.
And so Isaiah came
and brought this message.
But Isaiah's message
wasn't just a warning.
He didn't just warn them.
It wasn't just
a call to repentance.
Actually, Isaiah came
and brought some good news.
And though the people
had rejected God's word
and though God's people
had lost their way,
God hadn't given up on them.
In fact,
God was more committed
to them than ever.
He would rescue them.
He would redeem them.
And He would do so
by sending another word.
He had sent them
His word and His prophets.
They hadn't listened.
God was so committed.
He said,
I'll send you another word.
But this time
He'd send the ultimate word.
This time He'd send
the word made flesh.
This time He'd send
His Son.
And so the Apostle John
writes this,
The word became flesh
and dwelt amongst us.
And we have seen His glory.
He came full of grace
and full of truth.
Friends,
Jesus Christ
is the ultimate word of God.
The ultimate revelation of God.
The ultimate good news of God.
He didn't just come
as a prophet.
Jesus came to do
what no prophet could do.
He came full of truth.
He came to tell us
what the truth of God
is really like.
Who God is like.
If you want to know
what God is like,
get to know Jesus.
Jesus came full of truth
to tell us
the reality
of who God is
and what He's like.
But Jesus also came
to tell us
the truth
of our hearts.
That our hearts
are sinful.
That our hearts
have lost their way.
That our hearts
have gone our own way.
But Jesus
didn't just come
full of truth.
He also came
full of grace.
Jesus came to do
what no prophet could do.
He came to bring us grace.
But He didn't just come
to tell us about grace.
He didn't just come
to explain grace.
He came to purchase us grace.
And He did it,
as Chris said earlier,
the most costly way
anyone could ever do it.
He did it
by dying on the cross.
He did it
with His blood.
He came to purchase
grace for us
and to cover our sin
with His grace.
And so Colossians 3
says this,
In Him,
in Jesus,
the fullness of God
was pleased to dwell
and through Him
to reconcile
to Himself
all things,
things in heaven
and on earth,
making peace.
How?
By the blood
of the cross.
Friends,
Jesus Christ
is the ultimate
revelation of God.
The ultimate Word of God.
The Word of God
that rescues
and redeems.
The Word that doesn't
just tell us
to live better.
The Word that brings us
back to Himself
and rescues us
and restores relationship.
Jesus is the Word of God
that came to save us
if we'll come to Him
in humility
and contrition,
humbly
and awe and reverence.
Watermark,
may we be a church
built and founded
upon this true
and better Word,
upon the living Word,
the Word of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Father,
this is what God says,
Heaven is my throne,
the earth is my footstool.
What is the house
that you'd build for me?
Don't you know
all these things
my hand has made
and so they came to be?
But this is the one
I will look to,
those who are humble
and contrite in spirit
and tremble
before my Word.
Let's pray together.
Can I invite you
to stand with me?
Amen.
Let's close our eyes
and let's respond
to God's Word.
Friends,
how will we come to Him now?
Jesus invites us
to come to Him,
the living Word.
How do we come to Him?
Will we come to Him
in humility
and repentance
and confession?
Friends,
for those of us
that have maybe been
blasé
about God's Word,
can we repent of that?
For those of us
that come to God's Word
as if it's good advice,
let's repent of that
and ask Christ
to forgive us.
Ask Him to change
our attitude
towards His Word.
for those of us
who maybe have sat
over God's Word
as if we are
the final judge of it.
Can we repent of that?
Can we
bring ourselves
under God's Word
and say,
Father,
You have the final say
in my life.
Maybe some of us
come to God
intellectually.
We think of God's Word
as a manual.
It's a book
to analyze.
But we don't come
to God Himself.
Friends,
God wants us
to come to Him.
He wants His Word
to breathe life
into our souls.
He wants to both
challenge us
and encourage us
as we come
to His Word.
Father,
we repent of that.
God,
we want You.
We want to meet
with You.
We want to love You.
God,
won't Your Word
speak to us
and may we encounter
You in Your Word.
God,
won't You open
the eyes of our heart
to see wondrous
truths in Your Word,
to see glorious
things there
that we may encounter
You, God.
God,
won't You make us
more like You
as we come
to Your Word,
won't You make us
more like You.
Jesus,
we thank You
that You are
the living Word,
the Word that came
not just to tell us
what God is like,
not just to show us
what God is like,
but to bring us
back to God.
Jesus,
come and have Your way
in our life.
Come and be first
and foremost.
Come and be at the center
of our lives,
we pray.
let's worship
this wondrous
and majestic
God,
our King
together.
Let's worship.
Thank you.