? Come Thou Almighty King ? ? Help
us Thy name to sing ? ? Help us to praise ? ? Father all glorious
? ? Lord all victorious ? ? Come and reign over us ? ? Ancient
of days ? Come thou incarnate Word, gird on thy mighty sword,
our prayer attend. Come and thy people bless, and
give thy word success, Spirit of holiness on us descend. ? Come Holy Comforter ? ? Thy
sacred witness bear ? ? In this glad hour ? ? Thou who almighty
art ? ? Now rule in every heart ? ? And ne'er from us depart
? ? Spirit of power ? ? To the great one in three ? Eternal
praises be ? Hence evermore ? His sovereign majesty ? May we in
glory see ? And to eternity love and adore Good morning. Wow, what a difference
from last Sunday, huh? Everybody slipped in today. Well,
I don't know what that means for the message I have for this
first hour from Psalm 76, but it seems there may be some relationship
between This and this. So let's let's pray together. Ask the Lord's blessings. Oh,
a couple of things. Announce Wednesday night, but
some of you may not have heard. Diane Etheridge's father passed
away last Sunday and Michael and Diane went to the funeral
this week in Mississippi and Diane stayed and should be coming
back home tomorrow. So remember Diane. And also Chris Way. She's mother
is in the hospital in which is also the way she kids grandmother
and leesburg and they're up there uh... with her trying to uh... she has uh... irregular heartbeat
and they're trying to get that stabilized alright let's uh... ask the lord's blessings our
merciful heavenly father we thank you that you have put
into our hearts a desire to worship and to adore you as we've just
expressed in song. Lord, we. Pray that you would
strengthen that hope and that you would send your spirit and
power and enable us to worship you. In the power of your spirit. And from our spirits. And according. to the truth of thy word, for
we know that such seeketh thee, our Father." We pray that Christ
will be lifted up. We pray that your church will
be encouraged and your children will be strengthened. Lord, we pray for Diane as she
She cares for her mother and. Lord, pray that you would give
her safe travel. Pray that you would give her
wisdom. Pray that you would draw near to her and give her comfort
of Christ. Lord for for the way she family
and. For Chris's mother asked Lord
for the. Physicians to have understanding
and Lord pray that you would be pleased to. Provide opportunity
for the gospel to be witnessed to her. We ask it in Christ's name, amen. Well, the reason I made the comment
that I made a moment ago is because the title of this message is,
Why Come to Church? Why Come to Church? And the text is so clear, requires
very little explanation, but our Our passage this morning
from God's Word is found in Psalm 76. Psalm 76. In Judah is God known. Now, Salem, Judah, and Zion are
all words used here to describe the gathering of God's people. Judah, as you know, was the child of Jacob and the
one from whom the tribe of Judah is the one that the Lord Jesus
Christ came from. he was the prince and I'm so
these these are the reference this references to the children
of God those who are found in Christ and as they gather together
I'm as you know the word church I'm is the word a classia it's
I'm the the Spanish word for church Iglesias just a trans
literation of that greek word and i want to give you the definition
of that word the gathering of citizens called out from their
homes to a public place and uh... assembly and assembly so these
are god's people who have assembled together who are of the tribe
of judah and the word says i'll make myself known Why do we come
to church? Because we have a desire to know
God, to know him. Paul said at the end of his life,
oh, that I might know him, the fellowship of his suffering,
that I might know him. I've not yet apprehended that
which has apprehended me, but this one thing I do. This one
thing I do, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high
calling in Christ Jesus. And God says right here, in Judah
I will be known. His name is great in Israel. Israel. Not only Judah, Israel,
Salem, Zion, all these words are being used to describe the
church. and the Lord says my name is
great in Israel in Salem now Israel you know was was Jacob's
name when he wrestled with the Lord and there is a there is
a wrestling that takes place in just being able to come to
church isn't there there's an effort to be made to be able
to come And the Lord puts it on our hearts and causes us to
desire to be here. But when that fight with the
flesh is fought, the Lord touches the hollow of our thigh and changes
our name to Israel, the Prince of God. That's why we come. In
Salem, you know what the word Salem means, peace. Jerusalem
is the city of peace and this is the place where the peace
of God is known in the hearts of God's people and where God
makes peace for us in Christ. And so he says in Salem also
is his tabernacle. These are the reasons why we
come. He tabernacled among us. Everything about that Old Testament
tabernacle pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. From its one door
all the way into the Holies of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant
and the Mercy Seat, it all pointed to Christ. The showbread, the
candlestick, the sacrifices that were made, The fabric that it
was made out of, it was all represented different parts of the, this
is the place where Christ is lifted up and where he makes
all the attributes of his deity known to his people. This is
why we come. In Salem also is his tabernacle
and his dwelling place. His dwelling place in Zion. Now
Zion means a parched place. And to the world, that's what
this is. It's a parched place. This Mount
Zion is rocky, it's dry, it doesn't grow much, can't really cultivate
it, can't plant it. But this is the mountain where
the presence of God is pleased to fall. And God's people are
the only ones that scale that mountain and come to that place
where the Lord is pleased to make Himself known. Look at verse
3. There break ye the arrows of
the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. We, well, the scripture says
that he turns our swords into plowshares and our spears into
pruning forks. Now, what is a sword and a spear?
It's a weapon, it's an instrument of war, isn't it? And we come
into this world at enmity with God, we struggle, we even as
believers, we wrestle with Him over the circumstances of our
lives, don't we? And what is a plowshare and a
pruning fork? Those are farming instruments,
aren't they? And so the Lord causes us to put down all our
weapons and he takes an army of misfits and an army of people
that would be an objection to him and he makes them farmers.
And here's where the seed of his word is planted, and this
is where the fruit of his harvest is eaten and enjoyed. This is
what God's saying. Now, the church, the called out ones,
the gathering of citizens called from their homes to a public
place, is also the example given in scripture, isn't it? to the church which is at Corinth,
to the church which is at Ephesus or which is at Thessalonica. The letters are addressed to
assemblies of believers. Turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter
3. First and second, Timothy and
Titus are called pastoral epistles. These are the words that God
gave to the elders of local assemblies and to the assemblies themselves
on how they should function as a church, as a gathering of believers,
how they were to relate to one another and how they're to worship.
And look what he says in chapter three at verse 15, but if I tarry
long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself
in the house of God. Now the church is called the
house of God and the Lord's telling us how we ought to behave ourselves
in the house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth. So just like Just like
the roof of this building is being held up, we were talking
about this morning with the men, talking about how this building
was constructed. There's 50 solid concrete pores in the walls of
this little building that go from the footers to the roof.
And our whole objective was to be able to have a roof. The purpose
of this building is to give us a covering. And the Lord says,
we're not talking about this physical building being the church.
This is the church, but I'm using it as an example, the pillars
and the ground of the truth. The truth is what we're concerned
about, a covering, a covering and atonement. We're concerned
about Christ being lifted up and for us being protected from
Well, from the wrath that is to come, first and foremost,
from our own sin and unbelief and from this world, and the
Lord tells us that the church, the house of the living God,
is the pillar and the ground of the truth. Without the church,
there'd be no roof. Now, you know, but for the sake
of those who may be listening, that I'm not talking about just
any church. I'm not talking about just any church. I'm talking
about the church of the living God. The gospel church. The church
that is faithful to lift up Christ, the ones that have been called
out by God, the ones who have been enabled to worship him with
spirit, in the spirit and in the truth of the gospel. Satan by profession is a counterfeiter. and uh... there's a lot of there's
a lot of dark evil things in this world the satan is behind
no question about that but satan gets as much or more mileage
as a deceiver of men out of religion than he does out of the dark
evil things that he's behind in this world and so we're not talking about
uh... a counterfeit church we're talking
about the true church. I was listening to some people
on the radio discussing the fact that there were some mainline
denominations that were ordaining homosexuals into the ministry.
And whether that was right or whether that was wrong, and I
thought, you know, That's kind of like whether or not a homosexual
could serve in the ministry of, you know, of the church. And
I said, and I thought to myself, I said, that's kind of like asking
whether or not a homosexual black blind midget could play in the
NBA. So that guy's problem is not
his homosexuality. It's the fact that he's blind
and he's a midget. The problem that the false church
has is not with all the things that the world points out. The
problem that they have is that they don't have the gospel. They're
blind to the truth of the gospel. And, uh, that, that that's the
problem. So, you know, people say, well,
I wouldn't go to that church because of this or because of
that. There's one reason not to go to a church and that's
that they don't preach the gospel. They don't preach the gospel.
Um, don't be fooled. Satan is called
a minister of righteousness. He's called an angel of light.
And his emissaries are called wolves in sheep's clothing. So
Satan wants to counterfeit the things of God, and he's done
that very well in religion in the world. So when we're talking
about what the Lord is describing here as the church, we're talking
about the true church. the gospel church where crisis
love or crisis preach for god's word is reverenced and uh... and where he's known where he's
known this is the place where the lord's pleased to make himself
known were two or three are gathered together in my name there i am
in the midst of why we go to church as well no god will know
him you know uh... i've heard Two contrasting statements
made by people over the years, and I continue to hear them made.
One statement is, by those who have been, with circumstances beyond their control,
had to miss services. And they will say things like,
oh, I've missed being in worship. I've been out in the wilderness. I'm so thankful to be back. And
what a blessing it is to be here. And the other statement that
I hear from people is, I don't have to go to church to worship
God. Now what is the difference between
those two people? The difference is very simple.
One knows what it is to worship. Knows what it is to be in the
presence of God. Knows what it is to be with God's
people, worshiping God in the spirit and hearing the gospel
and being blessed with his presence. And the other knows little or
nothing of being able to worship God. One is a sinner in need
of grace and the other has no need, has no need. One is a part
of the body of Christ that needs the other parts of the body of
Christ to make them whole. And the other is proud, believing,
I guess, that they are the body of Christ by themselves. One
has a heartfelt need to know God better, and the other is
satisfied with what they know. One hears the greatness of God
in the preaching of the gospel, and the other is impressed with
the God that they already have. One sees the tabernacle, which
of course is Christ, gloriously laid out in public worship, and
the other is satisfied with looking at the tabernacle from afar. One is thirsty. One's thirsty. having spent their week in the
desert, needing for the rock to be struck once again, that
they might drink from that fountain freely of living water. And the
other is satisfied with drinking the polluted waters of broken
cisterns in the world. One is hungry to have their souls
fed with the bread of life that comes from heaven, and the other
is satisfied with eating the leeks and the garlics and the
melons from Egypt. There's a huge difference between
those who say, I can worship God without the church, and those
who say, oh, I've so missed, I've so missed being here. I
need to be fed. I need to hear once again the
old, old story. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ, as you know, is few in our day and far between. It is a rare thing. It is a precious
thing. It is the place where God's people
have to be. They have to be fed, they have
to be taught, they have to be encouraged, they have to be saved.
They have to be saved. They have to have all their arrows
and bows broken. Lord, by nature I'm in enmity
with God, by nature I'm a rebel to the things of God. Subdue
me, conquer me, conquer me. And that's what the Lord does
at His church. Go back with me to our text in
Psalm 76. Young people, you will be given opportunities
to advance yourself in this world. in places where there is no gospel
church. Turn it down. Turn it down. Don't go there. What does it
profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own
soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul? Not a
job. Not a promotion. Don't do it. For only in Judah is God known. His name is great in Israel. In the city of peace, Salem also
is His tabernacle. This is where He tabernacles.
This is where He dwells. The dwelling place in Zion. There, there. And the child of
God says, Lord, break my arrows. turn my spears into plowshares,
my sword into plowshares and my spear into pruning forks.
There he breaks the arrow and the bow and the shield and the
sword and the battle. Lord, I don't want to be in conflict
with you. I want to be at peace with God. Thou art more glorious and excellent
than the mountains of prey. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ is more excellent than all the things that this world
has to offer. The stout-hearted are spoiled. We're pretty stout-hearted, aren't
we, sometimes? We can be pretty obstinate. We
can be pretty rebellious. We can be pretty independent.
And here's the place. Why do we go to church? Because
I need God to break my bow and I need him to spoil my stout-heartedness. I need him to lay me low and
make me dependent upon him. And this is where he does that.
The stout-hearted are spoiled. They have slept their sleep.
Lord, I've been in a slumber. I've been in spiritual sleep.
I need to be woke up. This is why we come, because
they have slept their sleep. You know what it is to sleep
spiritually, don't you? You know what it is to slumber?
And this is the place where God is pleased to wake His children
up and open their eyes, cause them to see and cause them to
hear. And none of the men of might have found their hands.
You know what it is to trust in the works of your own hands
for your provisions? You've been doing that, haven't
you? And this is the place where you can't find your hands. You
can't find the work of your hands. All you can see is the marks
of his hands and what he accomplished in fulfilling all righteousness
on your behalf. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob,
doth the chariot and horse, both the chariot and horse, are cast
into a deep sleep. We're going to be looking at
chariots and horses in the second hour, but here the Lord is talking
about those Egyptians, isn't he, that were cast into the sea
and how all the enemies of God are defeated in Zion, in Salem,
in Jerusalem, in Judah, and in Israel. Thou, even thou, art to be feared. Oh, how many minutes, how many hours,
how many days we can go without having any real fear of God?
This is the place where the Lord renews our godly fear, isn't
it? It's why we come. It's why we're
here. I've got no intention of trying
to make folks feel guilty for not coming to church. I'm telling
you what God says about why we come. I want to encourage you
to know that this is the Lord's promise for what he does in the
hearts of his people when they gather together. Verse seven, thou even thou art
to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art
angry? Lord, I don't want to know anything
about the wrath of God. I don't want to know anything
about the judgment of God. I want the Lord Jesus Christ
to absorb all the wrath and justice of God for me. I've got to have
Christ. That's why I'm here. Tell me
again about what the Lord Jesus Christ did when He went to Calvary's
cross and bore my sins in His body upon that tree. Tell me
again how God looked at the at the travail
of his soul and how the father is satisfied with what the Lord
Jesus Christ accomplished for me. Tell me about that because
otherwise I'm going to have nothing to look forward to but the fear
of God and the fear of his wrath and justice and who shall stand
if God should mark an equity? If God takes knowledge of one
of my sins, if the Lord Jesus Christ didn't bear all my sins
and put them away once and for all by the sacrifice of Himself,
I'm not going to be able to stand in the presence of God if God
marks one sin. That's why I'm here. That's why
I'm here. I've got to know my sins have
been put away. I've got to know that Christ has done the work
for me. Thou didst cause judgment to
be heard from heaven and the earth feared and was still. The Lord Jesus Christ caused
judgment to be heard from heaven. Christ be in the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believeth. The judgment
and justice of God has been satisfied. There is now therefore no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. And the voice of God has been
heard from heaven. And now what happens on the earth?
What happens on the earth? They fear God. They reverence
Him. They worship Him. And they are
still. They are still. This is the one
place where I can rest. Where I can be still. Still from
my labors. Still from my worries. Still
from my conflicts. Know that God has given me a
place to rest in Christ. I can be still. When God arose to judgment, when
did this happen? When did this happen? When God
arose from judgment to save all the meek of the earth. God gives grace to the humble. Now, sadly, we are not humble
always in our relationships with one another. We're proud and
self-promoting. But here in Zion, here in Jerusalem,
you're not going to find pride before God. This is the place where the meek
find their grace to help in their time of need. Also, this is the place, look
at verse 10, this is the place where believers are brought back
to the place of understanding that all the evil and all the
wrath and all the objections of men and all the things that
seem so out of control are in control. They're in control. Surely, Surely
the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the remainder of wrath
thou shalt restrain. All the things that you and I
experience in this world that are contrary to the truth of
the gospel. God's using them. The wrath of
man shall praise thee. When was man's wrath expressed
most vehemently against God? Calvary's cross. Did the wrath
of man end up praising God? Did those that Peter spoke to
in Acts chapter 2 when he said, you by your wicked hands have
crucified and slain? But God, God purposed it all
along, didn't he? for his glory. The wrath of man
shall praise thee. And whatever imaginations men
have for wrath that God can't use for his glory, he's gonna
restrain. He's gonna restrain. God restrains
the evil of man. Now, child of God, here's another
blessing for you. I know the unbeliever will hear
what I'm about to say and they'll say, well, that just gives men
a license to sin. Shall we continue in sin that
grace abound? Here's the good word. Brethren,
where sin abounds, grace does much more bound your wrath, your
wrath, your objections against God, your, your sin. God will turn to his praise and
to your good. The wrath of man, of every man,
shall praise him. The older Esau, that's your old
man, shall serve the younger Jacob, drive him to Christ. That's why I come. I come not
only to know that my sins have been put away, but I come to
know that I've got a God who's able to take even my sin and
use it for His glory and for my good. And I'm thankful to know that
the Lord restrains me. You know, I hear men talk about,
well, I want to do great things for God, and I want to leave
a legacy, and I just want God to restrain me and keep me faithful
to the end. You know, Lord, just get me through. Get me through. Verse 11, vow and pay unto the
Lord your God. Let all that be around about
him bring presence unto him that ought to be feared. I know that religion is all about
trying to get people to be more committed and people You know, they glory in
their commitments, don't they? The truth is that you will be
committed to that which you have a need for. So, I'm not so worried
about commitment, I'm worried about need. You have a need,
you'll be committed. And that's the thing, if you
have a need to be in Zion, if you have a need to be in Judah,
if you have a need to be in Salem for all these blessings that
God has promised, then you can be committed to his church. That's what verse 11 is talking
about. A vow and pay unto the Lord your God. Let all that be
around about him bring presence unto him that ought to be feared.
He shall cut off the spirit of princes He is terrible to the
kings of the earth. Let's pray. Our heavenly father,
we're thankful for your church. We're thankful that you've called
us out and gathered us together. And Lord, we pray that you would
preserve first this assembly, and protect us and keep us faithful. And bless us with thy presence. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen.