Be seated.
As many of you know, I am Drew Arrington.
I am not a PCA minister.
! I am a minister of an associated denomination,
! the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church,
and I am a chaplain here at Fort Carson.
And it's my pleasure today to preach
to you.
And I want to start off by saying
that as Christians,
sometimes we get asked many questions.
And one of those questions that you might be asked
is, why do you worship God?
John Oatman Jr.,
a hymnist from the late 1800s
to the early 1900s,
wrote this in one of his famous hymns
that kind of tries to answer that question
or is perhaps a common answer that you might hear.
And he says this,
count your blessings,
name them one by one,
count your many blessings,
see what God has done.
In many ways, Oatman was right.
We worship God because of the manifold blessings
that he pours out upon us.
But if God's smiling providence
gave way to his frowning providence,
would the Christian,
would you,
have reason
to joyfully worship God?
If cancer robs you of your youth,
if your home is no more than a dirt floor
and a thatched roof,
if your parents are absent
or worse yet, abusive,
if your death or,
if through death or divorce,
your wife is stolen from you,
if a vindictive investigation
threatens your livelihood,
do you know
that even in all of those circumstances,
you as a Christian
have sufficient reason
to not only worship God,
but to do so joyfully?
Here at CNPC,
you have a wonderful statement
about joyful worship,
and it's included
on the backside of your bulletin.
Simply stated,
this helps us
to answer the question,
why do Christians worship God?
And I want you to grasp
the depths of the words
here in that statement.
Because beyond
the temporal blessings we enjoy,
the Christian joyfully worships God
because of God's wonderful works.
And in today's reading,
we will look at
three of those wonderful works.
works that elicit joy
from the heart of the Christian.
Well, as we pray
and then read Galatians 3
through 4, 7,
I ask that you would ponder
this question,
why do I joyfully worship God?
Gracious Heavenly Father,
we come before you this morning
reading your word.
And God,
I ask that your Holy Spirit
might do
what your Holy Spirit does,
which is to apply that word
to our very hearts.
God,
that we might know you
and love you
more deeply
and as a result,
worship you
with joyful hearts.
this we ask
in your Son's name,
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
So if you would,
join me
in reading
Galatians 3,
verse 21
through chapter 4,
verse 7.
Is the law then
contrary to the promise of God?
Certainly not.
For if a law
had been given
that could give life,
then righteousness
would indeed
be by the law.
But the Scripture
imprisoned everything
under sin
so that the promise
by faith
in Jesus Christ
might be given
to those who believe.
Now,
before faith came,
we were held captive
under the law,
imprisoned
until the coming faith
would be revealed.
So then,
the law was our guardian
until Christ came
in order that we might
be justified by faith.
But now that faith has come,
we are no longer
under a guardian.
For in Christ Jesus,
you are all sons of God
through faith.
For as many of you
were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew
nor Greek.
There is neither slave
nor free.
There is no male
and female
for you are all one
in Christ Jesus.
And if you are Christ's,
then you are Abraham's
offspring,
heirs
according to the promise.
I mean that an heir,
as long as he is a child,
is no different
from a slave,
though he is the owner
of everything.
But he is under guardians
and managers
until the date
set by his father.
in the same way,
also,
when we were children,
we're enslaved
to the elementary principles
of this world.
But when the fullness
of time had come,
God sent forth his son,
born of a woman,
born under the law,
to redeem those
who were under the law,
so that we might receive
adoption as sons.
And because you are sons,
God has sent his spirit,
the spirit of his son,
into our hearts,
crying,
Abba,
Father.
So you are no longer
a slave,
but a son.
And if a son,
then an heir
through God.
may God add
the blessing
to the reading
of his word
and the preaching
thereof.
In his commentary
on Exodus,
in this passage
that we read earlier
in Exodus,
Matthew Henry observes,
old mercies
to ourselves
or to our fathers
must not be forgotten,
that God may be praised
and our faith encouraged.
And today,
we're going to look
at three of those
old mercies
in Exodus
in light
of our New Testament
reading
so that our faith
can be encouraged
and that our worship
may truly be joyful.
And so with that,
let's look
at the precarious situation
that the Hebrews
found themselves in,
in slavery in Egypt.
See,
they had come
to Egypt
and we see here
that God
for nine plagues
had gone
toe-to-toe
with Pharaoh,
but yet
little progress
had been made.
The Egyptians,
the Hebrews
were still enslaved
to the Egyptians.
And in this reading
just previously,
God had announced
to Moses,
I'm sending
a tenth plague
and I'm taking
the gloves off.
I am going
to visit death
upon every
single house
in Egypt.
The firstborn
in every house
will die.
And this message,
this was a message
of mercy,
but also a message
of misery.
We heard
the misery
that God
in his wrath
was executing judgment
upon the population
there in Egypt.
But there was also
a message
of mercy
that God
in his
great love
for us
and for the Hebrews
was providing
a way
that they
could escape
his judgment,
escape his wrath.
in the previous
nine,
God had demonstrated
his mercy
in many ways
by allowing
certain plagues
to not affect
the land of Goshen
where the Hebrews
were,
but this one
is different.
Here God says,
you,
you must participate
in your redemption.
You must participate
in avoiding
the wrath
to come.
You must embrace
the mercy
that I am offering.
And what was that mercy?
That mercy
was the Passover lamb.
The lamb
that Moses
instructed the people,
the Hebrews,
to sacrifice
so that the
life of the
oldest
would be preserved.
But it wasn't
just the shedding
of blood
that was required.
No,
the Hebrews
had to take
a bunch of hyssop
and dip it
like a brush
into the shed
blood of the lamb
and then apply it
to the doorposts
and the cross
member of the door.
In effect,
they were sealing
the house
against God's
coming wrath.
but that
wasn't all.
For the promise
of deliverance
to be received,
they had to
abide
under that seal.
They had to
abide
within the
house
that was
marked
with the
blood.
You know
that we,
like our
spiritual
forefathers,
the Hebrews,
we also
are subject
to God's
wrath.
Not
because God
is going to
send an
angel of
death as
he did
in the
tenth
plague,
but that
we are
dealing
with his
eternal
wrath,
his
judgment
against
our
sin
and
against
our
lack
of
righteousness.
And
because of
that,
we are
barred
from entrance
into his
kingdom.
We are
non-participants
in his
great
promises
that we
find all
throughout
scripture.
But,
Paul writes
in Galatians
4,
when the
fullness of
time had
come,
God sent
forth his
son,
born of
a woman,
born under
the law,
to redeem
those who
were under
the law.
Christ is
that Passover
lamb.
Christ is
the one
whose blood
shed for
us allows
us to
escape
God's
wrath.
His
blood
applied to
our hearts
by the
Holy Spirit
saves us,
marks us
as his.
And when
we
abide under
the blood
of Christ,
Christ's
work
speaks
on our
behalf.
love.
Well,
reflecting on
the wonder
of that
deliverance,
Charles Simeon
declares and
has written
on your
bulletin,
that deliverance
will be
indeed
wonderful,
and eternity
will be too
short to
explore the
unsearchable
riches of
grace and
love contained
in it.
God
has
joyfully
worship
because God
has delivered
us from
his wrath.
And that
is great and
excellent news.
And we
could stop
there this
morning.
But like
the infomercial
guy, I want
to say, but
wait, there's
more.
There's more.
And if we
go back to
Exodus and
we see the
second of
God's old
mercies, we
see that in
addition to
being at
risk of
suffering God's
wrath, the
Hebrews were
subjects of
slavery at
the cruel
hand of
Egyptian
taskmasters.
They came
to Egypt
seeking
satisfaction
and security
during a
time of
famine.
And over
the years,
they found
themselves
enslaved,
brutalized,
devalued,
and in
that
precarious
position,
Exodus 3,
7 through
8 tells
us that
they cried
out for
a deliverer
and that
God heard
their cry.
And not
only did
he hear
their cry,
but he
provided for
their deliverance.
And
he
provided
for their
deliverance.
he
provided
for their
deliverance.
And
do you
know that
nearly
4,000
years since
then,
people today
find themselves
enslaved,
brutalized,
and devalued.
Such were
we.
We
were
brutalized,
enslaved,
and devalued
by sin
and by
the law.
And we
could spend
an entire
Sunday morning
talking about
how impactful
our sin
and our
enslavement
to the law
changes us
and enslaved
us.
But what is
essential to
understand
is that
just as the
Hebrews
needed a
deliverer
from the
Egyptians,
we
need a
deliverer.
We
are
incarcerated
by our
own
sin,
and the
law
cannot
deliver
us,
but only
condemn
us.
And that's
where Martin
Luther
found himself.
He
found himself
at the
point where
he realized
that he
could not
save himself.
And he
records this
as his
opening
argument
in the
Heidelberg
Disputation
when he
writes,
the law
of God,
which is
the most
beneficial
doctrine
of life,
is not
able to
advance man
towards
righteousness,
but rather
stands
against him.
What
then is
our hope?
How does
God
liberate us
from our
sin and
from the
law?
Martin
Luther near
the end
of that
same
work says,
he is not
justified
who does
many works,
but he
who,
without
work,
believes
much in
Christ.
The law
says,
do this,
and it
is never
done.
Grace
says,
believe in
this,
and all
things are
already
done.
God
will
do this.
And what
great news
to those
of us
who are
enslaved
to sin
and
brutalized
by the
law.
I hope
you heard
it.
Believe
that God
through
Christ
paid the
penalty
for our
sin,
and that
Jesus'
perfect
obedience
satisfies
the demands
of the
law,
and it's
all done.
You
don't have
to struggle
or worry
about being
enslaved to
sin and
about being
brutalized by
the law
because it's
all been
taken care
of by
grace.
through faith
in Jesus
Christ.
And if
that doesn't
elicit joyful
worship from
you,
question what
will.
Well,
we look one
more time
back to
Exodus,
and we see
again the
last of
God's old
mercies that
elicit joyful
worship from
his people.
As we see
that not only
were the
Hebrews
rescued from
God's wrath,
not only
were they
liberated from
slavery,
but the
Hebrews
found
themselves
after all
of this
wandering.
They were
without a
home.
They were
without a
future.
They were
without an
identity.
And it's
here that
the confession
that we
read this
morning about
the preamble
to the
Ten Commandments
proves
instructive.
God says,
I am the
Lord,
your God,
which have
brought you
out of the
land of
Egypt,
out of the
house of
bondage.
And through
this,
God is
saying,
look,
I am your
identity.
I am giving
you a new
identity.
You are
no longer
a people
who are
enslaved in
Egypt because
I delivered
you from
that bondage.
You are
not wandering
vagabonds.
You are
my people
and I
am your
God.
We,
too,
need a new
identity.
We,
too,
having
suffered
an
enslavement
and having
been
liberated
need a
new
identity.
And Paul
points to
that in
chapter 4
of Galatians
when he
writes this
and painting
such a
beautiful
picture of
that new
identity.
But when
the fullness
of time
came,
God sent
forth his
son,
born of
a woman,
born under
the law,
to redeem
those who
were under
the law
so that
we might
receive
adoption
as
sons.
And
because
you
are
sons,
God
has sent
the spirit
of his
son into
our hearts,
crying,
Abba,
Father,
so you
are no
longer a
slave,
but a
son.
And if a
son,
then an
heir
through God.
You see,
we were
slaves to
sin and
the law
without
hope,
but we
were freed
by faith
and now
we have
a hope
that is
certain and
sure through
Christ Jesus.
We were
sons of
wrath,
separated
from God
for all
eternity.
But now
we are
separated
from the
world,
having been
adopted
as
God's
sons.
We were
heirs to
death and
destruction,
and now
we are
heirs of
God's
kingdom
through
Jesus
Christ.
And we
see that
in all of
that,
it is the
Holy Spirit
who is
sealing us
just like
the Father
in the
Old Testament
in Hebrews
were
enslaved,
dipped
that
hyssop
into the
blood
and applied
it to
the doorposts.
The Holy
Spirit
takes the
finished work
of Christ
and applies
it to our
very hearts,
marking
out once
and for
all that
we are
gods,
sealed
for eternity.
And not
only that,
we are
adopted
into the
very
family
of God.
Not at
a distance,
but intimately
brought in
to the
very presence
of God
through the
Holy Spirit
in such
that we
can cry,
Abba,
Father,
Daddy.
Not God
of the
universe,
but Daddy.
What a
wonderful
state
the Holy
Spirit has
transferred us
into.
We are no
longer slaves.
We are no
longer subject
to God's
wrath,
but we
are the
very children
of God,
able to
cry out to
him
in all
of life
and call
him
Dad.
Oh,
Christian,
God has
infused you
with a
new identity
as his
dearly
beloved
child.
Would you
joyfully
worship him
for that?
Well,
as we
conclude
today's
sermon,
I do
so with
a simple,
but what I
would say
a profound
encouragement.
when you
count your
blessings and
you name
them one
by one,
start with
these three
old mercies.
Start with
the fact
that God
the Father
has delivered
us from
his wrath.
Start,
secondly,
knowing that
through Jesus
he has
liberated us
from slavery
to sin
and oppression
to the law.
third,
that by the
working of
the Holy
Spirit,
he has
adopted
us
as his
beloved
children.
In doing
so,
we will
remind
ourselves
of,
instruct
our children
in,
and bear
witness to
the great
works of
our gracious
God,
to whom
belongs
all joyful
worship,
glory,
and honor,
both now
and forever
more.
Amen.
Let us
pray.
Oh God,
thank you
that you
have done
a remarkable
work,
of which we
have seen
three today.
voy voy
Amen.