June 2006 Posts
The Priority of Praise
June 25, 2006. The Priority of Praise. Psalm 33:1-5.
Ah, Holy Jesus
Each month CLF features a hymn that moves us to praise our Lord for His excellent character and perfect work. This month's hymn is called Ah Holy Jesus. Feel free to copy the words and download the music for use in public and private worship.
A Relentless Pursuit of His Glory. Exodus 34:1-9.
June 11, 2006. The relentless pursuit of God’s glory. Exodus 34:1-9.
When the Lexus division of Toyota automobiles first began their company motto was ‘a relentless pursuit of perfection’. That motto signaled that it was their intention to build the highest caliber and quality mass market luxury car available.
The citizens of Zion are also on a relentless pursuit of a goal. We are determined and devoted to pursuing the glory of our sovereign Lord, God and King.
In Scripture the term translated glory refers to weightiness and splendor. The first term has to do with significance or importance. It means that God’s person, worship, word, will, agenda, character and actions are of utmost significance, importance and seriousness.
The second term refers to God’s supreme majestic splendor. It means that He above all is captivating and awesome in the sense that He fills us with awe and wonderful in that He fills us with a genuine sense of wonder.
To say that we’re awed by God is to convey that He floods us with a sense of amazement and respect mixed with fear that is coupled with a feeling of personal insignificance or powerlessness
To seek God’s glory therefore is to pursue a lifestyle in which our lives gain significance only as they are vitally attached to His Person, word, worship, will, character and actions. It is a mindset that says if there is no God then there is no life. That all accomplishments, all recognition, all the things I acquire will seem as nothing apart from His consuming presence in my life.
Seeking or pursuing God’s glory means having a desire to be captivated, awed and swept up with God’s beauty, majesty, supremacy and splendor. It is the mindset that says that nothing in this world is as attractive, beautiful or worth seeking, investing and investigating than the glorious, spectacular perfections of His eternal being.
What does it mean for us to pursue God’s glory?
We want to see, experience, embody and declare His glorious Name. God’s Name is attached to His sovereign saving character.
In Exod. 34:1-9 God’s Name and the glory connected to His Name referred to the reality that He is present with His people.
This presence is the sign that His people are distinct from all the peoples of the earth.
His presence is the sign that God has made good on His promise to save His people and take them to Himself.
The other aspect of His glorious Name is the fame that is attached to His Name because of His saving actions. The nations around Israel would hear of God’s spectacular saving actions and come to revere, fear and eventually worship the God of the Hebrews. Moreover, God would see to it that the fame attached to His sovereign, saving Name would known throughout the world.
Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.
We are God’s spokesman dedicated to proclaiming His Name to all so that they might come to Him for forgiveness, salvation, holistic healing and fulfilling worship. For us, we pursue God’s glory by declaring His salvation to those He’s put in our lives.
We want to see, experience, embody and declare the glory God’s supreme character.
He is merciful. God is filled with sympathy for the suffering of others and has a strong desire to help end that suffering.
God’s compassion extends to those like us who are suffering because of our own sinful choices. 2 Kings 14:26-27 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. [27] But the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
He is gracious. He actively shows favor to those who deserve judgment and specifically refuses to make all those who have sinned pay the price He demands which is death. By His grace God takes those who’ve rebelled against Him, changes their hearts and brings them into a covenantal family relationship.
He is slow to anger and execute His fair judgment. The Lord gives nations, cultures and societies a long to time to repent, turn from their sin and come to Him. God is slow to become angry because of His great desire to display love and not wrath towards His creation.
He abounds in consistent, special lovingkindness. God has a great, great quantity of steadfast love and faithfulness. There is literally no end to His tender-hearted kindness and true reliable faithfulness.
As God looks for and looks to show the blessedness of His character to His creation so we look for opportunities to show His character to those He’s placed in our lives.
We want to see, experience, embody and declare the glory of His unique savings actions toward His people.
He keeps or maintains reliable, trustworthy lovingkindness for an eternity.
God has and will show an affectionate, tender, redeeming, healing love to His people. He will not withdraw that love from them based on their actions and will not fail to keep His promise to show this love no matter what the cost.
The living God will spend an eternity showing and demonstrating this great love. Ephes. 2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
He acts and moves to forgive sin, that is He pardons and refuses to execute the proper punishment for those who’ve done the following: Perverted His word by acting against it. Revolting against God’s settled sovereign moral rule and authority. Merely missed the target of moral perfection found in God’s word.
He upholds and executes fair justice by punishing the guilty and giving the sinner what He deserves. God will not look past nor ignore those who by their own evil thoughts, words and actions deserve punishment. Sin will bring consequences. In His fairness God will allow the perversity of our sin to wreak havoc in the lives our children and their children.
How can God do this? How can He at the same time forgive perversion, rebellion and moral imperfection and insure that those guilty of such offenses are in fact punished?
He does so through His Son Jesus Christ. That’s why when believers talk about the glory of God we’re not speaking of some warm feeling or inner light that lifts our spirits. For us the glory of God is seen, experienced, embodied and proclaimed in the Person of Jesus Christ.
John 1:12-18 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. [13] who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. [15] ( John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.' ") [16] And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. [17] For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [18] No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
For us we pursue God’s glory by seeing, experiencing and declaring the multiple perfections of Jesus Christ in worship.
We pour out our worship to our Lord Jesus by singing and praising His Name for salvation.
We pour out our worship to our Lord Jesus as the One whose character fully embodies all of the Father’s grace and truth.
We pour out our worship to our Lord Jesus as the One whose actions are the firm foundation for God’s perfect justice and perfect mercy. We sing and praise our Lord that by His sinless life, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection God the Father can both forgive sin and uphold His holiness by punishing the guilty. We wonder at the faithful love of our savior who becomes guilty on our behalf.
To Him Who Loves Us...
Pastor Lance
City of God. Psalm 48.
June 4, 2006. City of God. Psalm 48
Different cities are known for different things. Los Angeles is known for Hollywood, New York for commerce and Washington D.C. for politics.
What is the city of God known for? Psalm 48 describes the church of the living God as a city where God Himself lives. From this passage we’ll begin a summer series on the character of the church. These are the signs, marks or virtues that God’s people display as a result of having Him live among us. Over the next several weeks we’ll take a more detailed look at each one of them.
1. Zion is known for its relentless pursuit of God’s glory.
What’s most important to us is that God’s significance, importance and weightiness is seen and embraced by the whole world.
We are concerned that the world beginning with us individually and our local fellowship acknowledge, thank and give glory to God for His wisdom, knowledge, holiness, sovereignty, order, justice, goodness, beauty, compassion, grace, steadfast love and wrath against sin.
This is crucial since the world will work overtime to hide, avoid and obscure God’s glory.
2. Zion is known for viewing biblical worship as our top priority.
We were created to worship, praise and adore the living God.
We’ve been redeemed so that we might enjoy His worship forever.
3. Zion is known for our proclamation the gospel of new life in Jesus Christ.
We must know what the gospel is and is not.
We must believe the imperatives of the gospel. We must put ourselves in positions to meet and have relationships with people who need the gospel.
4. Zion is known for our desire faithful preaching the word of God.
The church is a theological institution. There are things we have been commissioned to teach about God, His word, mankind, sin, salvation and Jesus Christ.
The citizens of Zion realize that worship doesn’t begin with a certain tune, but with a heart and mind that is tuned into the things of God revealed in His word.
Zion trust that God saves the lost, sanctifies the found and gives clear direction to His people by the preaching and teaching of His word.
The church believes, embraces and stands on the truth that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the inerrant, infallible, God breathed word of God.
5. Zion is known for nurturing pastoral care for all of God’s people.
Biblical leadership is not position of power to be sought for the purpose gaining prestige. The pastor is not to be treated as a celebrity or some kind of super-spiritual believer who isn’t accountable to anyone.
The pastorate is not a ticket to get wealthy. No pastor is called to live a lavishly wealthy lifestyle.
6. Zion is known for proactive involvement in the community God has placed us in.
The church is never called to withdraw from having consistent contact with this world.
We are to accept that God has placed us here as His representatives.
7. Zion is known for our passionate commitment to the poor and powerless.
The church isn’t called to side with the rich and powerful against the poor.
The church is called to advocate for and pursue biblical social justice.
The church must articulate that the primary biblical purpose of politics is to insure justice for the poor and powerless.
8. Zion is known for our full commitment to God’s sovereignty by engaging persistent kingdom focused prayer.
Kingdom focused prayer is prayer in which God’s will and agenda form the substance of our life of prayer.
Kingdom focused prayer is prayer that prioritizes the overall glory of God as seen through the expansion of His eternal kingdom.
9. Zion is known for our desire to look for ways to promote authentic racial reconciliation as the natural outworking of the gospel.
The church recognizes that the work of Christ involves bringing true peace to hostile people.
The church must demonstrate the reality that God does not show favoritism based on one’s race or ethnicity but accepts all who call on Him equally.
The church therefore cannot be passive or indifferent in the face of ethnic tension and hostility.
10. The citizens of Zion recognize that the church of our Lord Jesus Christ is the very flock of our Lord, His one body, His cherished bride, the manifestation of His wisdom, His eternal army, the vehicle through which He gets glory and the place where He lives now and will dwell forever. He will be with us to comfort, lead, empower and guide us forever. He will no more abandon His people than He would abandon His eternal plan of salvation and leave the entire human race in utter darkness and doom.
There should no surprise that these things characterize the people of Zion. For we take our cue from our leading citizen, the One who has brought us into God’s glorious city Jesus Christ Himself.
Philadelphia, the city we live in is also known for a number of things. Though we have no illusions that Philly will ever become the city of God it is our hope and prayer that when people who live in Philadelphia wonder what God is like and where He is that they’ll be able to look at His church and see the glory of His character reflected in the citizens of Zion.
To Him Who Loves Us…
Pastor Lance
