Strategy Statement #1: Congregational Worship, p.2

The mainstay of this pulpit is expositional preaching verse by verse chapter by chapter 2 books of the Bible, but I do Paul's occasionally to address some things that are pertinent to where God has us and that's what we are now where I'm pausing in our study through second Timothy to deal with our purpose and strategy statements as we are fine tuning the end to form what I'm calling the master outlines which will be the core of our curriculum for our pastoral training institutes. We hope that with the next year begin kicking off nephew would go to the wheel for many many years up had this will illustration illustrate what how we function because our conviction here Grace life is to be Bible saturated both in what we believe and and how we function we going to do just what's clever, are novel or what the last happening thing is I told you this many times denies her dear brother really partner church up in Tennessee. Some guys came in our church one Sunday.

I didn't recognize him.

I didn't think there were pulpit committee because nor the church would have me touchup eyes as they were leaving the church. He introduced existed. I'm so-and-so were from Psalms on Tennessee. We want to see how your church worked were trying to build a contemporary church in us and were trying to build on this 2000 years old, because that's when the Scriptures were written and long story short he's come over completely to that conviction.

But this represents what we believe we've gleaned from a thoroughly scriptural perspective on church life. The centerpiece strategy of church life is preaching the word in congregational worship. Nothing else matters at that hub. Is it right if that hub is it right, you can do everything perfectly and just doesn't matter. Everything stadiums off of that.

Just like in a wheel. The hub drives everything else and then the bottom right on the top right, spoke as every member ministry through small groups. We work really hard at that. Several weeks ago I looked at some of the statistics and we are right now averaging 87% of church membership active in small groups week to week. Most people would say that's phenomenally good for a church our size church of any size. I say that's normal. We're just acting like Christians on active if you don't care about your brothers and sisters enough to meet in small groups to love, encourage disciple evangelize together, etc. than something missing in your Christiana got a minute to beat you up, but that should be a part of your heart. I know it's insecure to some people understand that but there's something in you there's at least the germ that says I want to be a part of the body and the work of the body of Christ that happens through small groups. The top of the left spoke personalized strategic or omissions lot.

We can say about that. I will be sent a lot about that from the pulpit in coming weeks, we have a thoroughly biblical strategy as to how we do world missions and gods bless that to the decades in family discipleship. The bottom spoke we don't put a lot of emphasis on specific structures. There is the Bible doesn't but it needs to be real at home.

You got a church which strong preaching of the word and the power of the spirit, cognition, worship every member's ministry through small groups.

The church has embraced in totality of personalized strategic or omissions effort and it's a real at home and if the spirit will empower that than the outside ring is true a God glorifying local church, a church, God uses of the pattern brothers and that's what were seeing it anchored in truth.

As these people continually contact us and say, would you help us learn what you've learned. Help us get where we need to go biblically and so that's why these training institutes are so important that sort of the next step were talking about the foundational strategy statement congregational worship that centered on the spirit empowered preaching of the word of God. Now here's the way the statement now reads the church assembled to worship through the spirit empowered preaching of the word to strengthen the saved and convert the lost with singing that reinforces the faith and expresses praise to God, our audience's lot there. Trust me dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of hours of prayer and study and thinking when and behind that statement. You might could say this part better that part better. We don't think that's an infallible statement but we worked hard for it to be a balanced, biblically prioritized type statement for what we do you think we don't just get in here and meet together because that's what we've always done. There is a sacredness to the local Assembly of God Church. This is God's idea, and when we come together we do not have the freedom to do what we like that you know the difference between a fake church in a true church is there is a true church and a fake church in Lansing and fake churches are no genuine believers are no people of Jesus. But here's what I fake church. Basically, no matter what they actually say.

Outwardly, I think church basically is striving to make people feel comfortable to please people. A true church is striving to make Christ comfortable the police, Christ trusting the Holy Spirit to listen to me don't do me out.

Trusting the Holy Spirit to enable us to begin to like what Christ likes trusting the Holy Spirit to change our affections for we treasure and enjoy what Christ treasures and enjoys. So we with our heart and minds commit to the truth of what God wants the church to be trusting our emotions to catch up with the commitment to truth. It's very inverted in most churches today are built for women and young people you know why is there more more emotionally driven than men you capture their emotions. You get everything then here's the problem with emotions.

Emotions are all over the place. Emotions change every moment. Emotions are up and emotions are down. Therefore, we train our emotions to respond and follow truth that were committed to truth. First, I'm very emotional about what we saying this because I'm very committed to the truth were sinking about La Mesa get ahead of myself. That's over and outline, but let's take this strategy statement one phrase at a time.

First of all we but this is review. We talked about the church assembled we pointed out that in the Old Testament.

It was the pattern of ancient Israel to assemble the congregation of Israel and primarily to hear the word of the law and then we went over to the New Testament and showed how that was the pattern from the very beginning of the church age, you might say in acts chapter 2 are all meeting in Solomon's portico, there's actually no real need to discuss this is a doctrine because everywhere people were being say they would come together necklace see a church is God's called out ones, but it implies you're not even you're not just called out from the world you're called together one to another, and so we see the thorough teaching of called out assemblies in the Old Testament and the New Testament and then we say not only are we asked to assemble together were assembled to worship II to worship and it almost. I would say the great majority of people.

If you mention the word worship. The first thing that comes to their minds. All that's when we sing together in a church service. Last true that's wonderful worship but that's only a small part was my fact, it's maybe the second most important worship that happens on Sunday morning, the first most important worship that happens on Sunday morning is the preaching and the receiving of the preaching of the word of God. That's the highest form of worship as Martin Luther said the first mark of the church is the preaching of the word so worship involves the totality of our lives as we obey and serve God, but it is also about what we do together we come together as a church. When we do what Christ has ordered the local assembly church to do together when they come together. So this is all about worship. I wrestle with how to just succinctly define worship and you might come up this idea is when we obey and serve God because from our hearts. We treasure him more than anyone else. It's not this coercive drudgery of all, I got obey God. All I gotta serve God. God doesn't want that kind of worship. He doesn't want that kind of service and obedience. He wants your heart to have been changed under the gospel and the power the Holy Spirit so that from your innermost being. There is the German the growing sanctifying desire to obey and serve because from my heart. I treasure you most highly that's behind worship. III the church assembled II to worship Roman with three through spirit empowered preaching spirit empowered preaching. There's great emphasis here on spirit empowered you can.all the eyes and cross all the TVs in your exegesis you can be grammatically correct.

A culturally and historically correct in your exegesis of the text. You can have the immediate and systematic context of the text perfectly down. You can enunciate doctrine to the degree of accuracy. But what matters is God using that truth about we all that's essential, but is God using that is God's spirit empowering that so that people will start coming to Christ and those who are saved are being sanctified to treasure Christ even more to teach our folks who were training for the pastorate to seek God's spiritual power and I told you to keywords about preaching in the power of the spirit. Every preacher should have believing prayer. I'm praying the spirit will use my message on believing he will do it, believing spirit empowered preaching the next phrase IV preaching the word is not just preaching so much needs to be said here and there so much that needs to be enunciated about using the Bible and the sermon versus preaching the word. So be careful. I will challenge and charge all of you fathers are responsible for your household. Lead your wives and lead your children and lead your grandchildren and lead your great-grandchildren to grasp the difference between an assembly where a man has used has learned to cleverly use the Bible verses a pulpit were the word is preached.

Again, the grammatical contextual historical context of solid expositional preaching is essential in preaching the word we saw in the.

The New Testament and in the Old Testament. How way the lead. These men went out preaching not just anything but preaching the word of God, how I would love to revisit that but I won't do that for time sake. V. New material now, the church assembled to worship the spirit empowered preaching of the word to what EN's.

First of all to strengthen the same here. So I think churches get backward sometimes no look. Nobody can look at Grace life church and so you guys are soft on evangelism.

Nobody can look at Grace life church of the shows and so you guys are weak on going after sold I don't know of anyone that still has hundreds of people going out on visitation. We still do that, we still want to urge all men to repent and believe the gospel.

However, our primary motivation about the worship service should be that the word of God is strengthening to the assembly of God's people that will get to this in a moment. It will at the same time be evangelistic to the unconverted you are attending the service not to be a strength and a you could use a lot of different words I use the word strength in here maturing sanctifying edifying building up equipping all those words I used were strength here in that very broad sense, but just say a few cross-references to see how the New Testament leaders use the Bible are preaching the word in strengthening the congregation. Colossians 123 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, that's the preaching, which was proclaimed that's preaching in all creation or have much Paul was made a minister, so standing firm in the faith is connected to having heard and hearing the proclamation of the word of God told you this many times but you need to sit under preaching the stay strong in your faith by fact that you move your family till week church where the pulpit is kinda secondary and you watch your faith start to dwindle your spiritual vitality start to wane. It's essential for the strengthening of the children of God. Colossians 125 pulses of this church, I was made a minister, according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit that I might want fully carry out the preaching of the word of God fully carry out what polishes the main means God's ordained for the building up of his church preaching the word of God. Colossians 128 29 speaking of preaching again, and we proclaim him. That's his preaching, admonishing every man that's through preaching teaching every man that's been preaching with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. Acts 2032 now come into got you to God. Rather, in the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among those who are sanctified.

Word of his grace with priming to communicate the preaching and in Romans 1625 now to him who is able to establish you same idea I use when I put strengthened in my outline to establish you according to my gospel and how in the preaching of Jesus Christ, establishing you from the moment you believe on Christ for justification and the further establishing of you as you believe on him further in sanctification brothers and sisters. The moment you believe on Jesus you're not through you just began you didn't get saved. But from that moment on. You are also being saved. We need faithful preaching of the word i.e. preaching the gospel to continue all of us on in sanctification. We're just weak. It's an old silly corny illustration but remember that the story of the man who came down during the revival meeting he came down the steps following this is an altar back Catholics about of these are not very good steps might affect our custodians told us you do understand pastor. This is a temporary platform it's got little weak leg just on the following day that I could jump in on it like I do sometimes in my file sooner than later, but the guy came down to the steps and that the church had learned. He does this every revival meeting and is pleading at the steps Lord Phil may Lord fail may Lord fail million one little legs and more. Don't do delete corny little illustration understand but you know what the truth is you leak and I link but here's what I'm saying Satan subtly uses all of this stuff around us to pull our affections and paw are part of the places we go to the preaching of the word of God are genuine regenerate born again child of God and once again the word with the power. The spirit draws us back and re-strengthens us to say all that's where my treasury us. That's were module. Yes, that's where my confidence is these other things are okay, but they come and go, changes, and I need the preaching of the word to get me back there. IV said the church assembled to worship the spirit empowered preaching of the word. The primary means of worship in the church preaching the word to strengthen the lost and at the same time to convert the lost. You want your children to be converted, and stay strong. Make sure make sure make sure they're in a sound local church and of the regular faithful spirit empowered preaching of the word of God fathers you will be held accountable to that cleverness, creativity, new fads and wonders. Not all that's evil but that's never promised in the Bible to convert your child soul but the preaching of the word is the primary means God has ordained to reach your children's souls for eternity. Second Corinthians 517 through 20 pulses. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ sees a new creation, a new creature.

The old things are passed away, and behold, new things have come. Not all these things, the new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself, the Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. The pulses as his preacher. I have this ministry of reconciling people to God to the gospel of Jesus Christ. He elaborates further in the next verse, verse 19, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and is committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Here policy says I have this ministry reconciliation. God's given me his word not to give others so that they not be able to be forgiven of sand and reconciled to got to God with her through Jesus Christ elaborates further verse 20.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us pulses as I go out faithfully preaching in the part of the spirit is actually God is appealing to men and women, young people come to Christ come to Christ, believe on him turn away repent from all of the notions the viewpoint. All other avenues to find God and embrace Christ alone is your hope of salvation. That's what I'm doing in the preaching. I'm actually God's agent, God's ambassador. This is making appeal through us. God's making the appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God preaching to convert the lost Romans to and one brother. My heart's desire and prayer to God for them is their salvation. This is talking about his fellow Israelite brethren who were immersed in religion. The true law of God. Judaism, but they had put their hope in the law and not until the one who fulfills the law Jesus Christ. So Paul's burdened about his fellow countrymen who are lost and this is how we go to get them say coming on down in Romans 1011 for the Scripture says whoever believes in him will not be disappointed further on down Romans 1013 and 14 for whoever will call in the name of the Lord will be saved and don't don't don't take this out of its context. It's it's a quote from the Old Testament and the idea doesn't mean a one time hoop jump of calling on the Lord block called him Lord RRS Lord save me. It may include that.

But it means you've been changed so that now you have become one who is a caller on the Lord you didn't just repair you started being a repent or you didn't just place your faith in Jesus, you begin being one who fights Jesus becomes a new pattern of your life not in perfection but is the new pattern of where you're going.

I know I repent to run I faith in Jesus Christ is not a hoop jump. I went through I not under the Jewish law to do it. The priest says and I'm okay I not in Roman Catholicism.

To do with the priest says and take the sacrament of okay I not in shallow badness like rolloff the islands up the hoop and with the badness and mocha. No, I want to become one who calls on the Lord, my heart change now look to him and him alone is my hope of salvation question is how we go to get people there to get people to the kind of people who is a pattern of their lifestyle. I repent. There's looking anything else they turned to look at anything and everything, but Christ had become faith versus the "people who continually says Christ. If you don't save me if you don't keep me safe your home.

All in all, I'm sought. My hope is you how they get there what's God's ordained means Romans 1013 1014 how will they call upon him who they've not believed. How would I believe in him and whom they've not heard I was a hero of the preacher of the apostle Paul was a very well educated man affair see the Pharisees.

He called himself very learned he was very aware that the Gentile culture they were in Rome, Greece, Carteret, Ephesus had lots of great entertainment venues, dramas, but he never in the tiniest way said let's go find these allurements that are in the world and let's bring them into the church service so it might help us get people say no when the preaching preaching.

The greatest thing you can do for the good of your family and the good of your family's eternal soul and the good of the church is pray for and support the preaching of the word of God. Nothing can take the place, not Jeff, not much preaching I may be gone next week, but God called man used by God's Holy Spirit to faithfully preach the word of God. So there's proclamation as the pastor preaches and there's appeal to come to Christ as the pastor preaches. But remind yourself brothers and sisters that the Bible does not save us. It is Christ that saves us, but it is the Spirit empowered preaching of the Bible that reveals the Christ to save you the believe that our you don't need to stop right there. Don't think about the roast lesson it's preaching to the Holy Spirit that reveals Jesus to people makes him real icing pastors and bless their hearts. I think many of them were sincere, but they in their pastorate with people as much looking to them as to Jesus, and with benevolent hearts.

They won't endear themselves to the people in this and that and understand that but I would rather hope this is true, but I would rather say what he had a snotty personality. He would any fun to be around, but he so preach Christ to me. I begin to love and embrace and treasure Jesus Christ, you know, I have found through the years maybe will defensively some of the strongest best preachers who revealed Christ didn't have the greatest personalities I want to slap you on the back happy Jack glad handers in part that's because a lot of the hearts and minds are places you don't know this is a weighty responsibility. Don't you know I take it very seriously that every single one of you know him and treasure and I can't do that through my personal winsome this that's not God's means I must do that. The faithfully preaching the word I want you to leave this building saying what a splendidly wonderful, winsome, caring, sweet pastor. I hope you can say that sometime I want you to leave saying what a Savior.

What a Christ, what a glory. What a love what forgiveness, if you can grow old in this church and sale when very impressed with Jeff, but I was very impressed with the Christ. He preached I'm happy please like me. I don't mean just like a not saying that but I want you to know. That's why many many years ago, amidst a lot of opposition. I pulled myself away from many many things in the church to immerse myself in studying preaching.

I believe you would say those of you have been her while pastor that was the right move. VII the church assembled to worship how through the Spirit empowered preaching the word to the end of strengthening the say converting the lost. Now we come to singing with singing that reinforces the faith singing that reinforces the faith. Roman are rather ANR outline.

We seem to teach and admonish one another. This word admonishes in Colossians 36 teen that the word of Christ richly dwell within you noticed it's gotta be in you first. Another word that means you gotta be a truly born again regenerate one or Christ is real to you.

He's in your heart and then Colossians 316 with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another how how was psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. So we are singing in here partly so that we might strengthen and encourage one another to go on with God.

Now while it's not all absolutely evil special lighting special-effects smoke machines fantastic boards with multicolored stuff on them stirring loud rock like music. None of that knows none of that is promised to aid in strongly encouraging the brethren to go on for God, but give me three or four brothers and sisters who love Jesus and sing biblically sound songs because they love Jesus and put me next to them and I'm strongly encouraged to: faith, I'd rather be in a barn with one guy who can halfway play guitar but the guys in there. The ladies and their love Jesus and sing like it that'll help me live for Jesus. The next week a lot better than tons of creative, clever stuff. Allurements added to the service in a week and carnal congregation who came for the show. As I've said before, I just do not understand designing the church service to resent resemble a bandstand or a nightclub. I've talked to many people who come to church and they come out of that they been saved out of that and all that's associated with drunkenness and carousing and immoralities in their fighting and repenting in a coming to the church incident puts me right back into that mode again who told us that's what the gospel needs. I could almost run through a wall right now. Run Becky Jesus needs no help doing his work.

You proclaim him and turn him loose. You just find quit dressing him up and whirly guard to make them attractive.

He's beautiful just like you.

Ephesians 519 says were to make melody in our hearts to the Lord.

What that means is, as we from our hearts are worshiping. Genuinely it then it also has the secondary purpose of admonishing encouraging of the brethren around us. Matter fact Google going down to that word admonish for the Tommy Colossians 316 where he says to admonish one another was psalms in the spirit salt simply means to strongly encourage, but first the heart.

Our individual parts have to be treasuring and loving Christ and singing doctrinally true songs and then those around us are strongly encouraged. Yes, the state of the faith. Yes, let's focus on Dr. Vlad yes this continue on faithfully for Christ. With Tom we have to have this condescending second Chronicles 29, 29, in the Old Testament while the whole assembly worship. The singers also saying in the trumpet sounded as her own person. Take it down. Natural.

That's what I gave them what is wrong.

Anyway, the Cognex vision would get together they would put great choirs and great singers together, but again it was not in the greatness of those things in the hearts of the singers makes it admonition BNR outline under singing that reinforces the faith is instrumentation's must complement the lyric's instrumentation's must complement the lyrics.

Another was with when you leave a worship service. If brother Tom and I have given you. I song service where you said wow that guitar while that screen display while those special-effects all they killed it today at church. I read that a lot recently about church ball. They killed it today killed what was that Nevada make sure you kill it this Sunday church killed what the fatted calf. We can that's not our goal is not were trying to accomplish.

We want the music the instrumentation to flow with the truth.

It's in the song so that it complements the doctrinal truth and not crowded out not get in the way of it, but Tommy first tell you that's hard to know every time brother the world wars were striving.

There brother Tom's with me 110% is the first music I've had. That is what he is, because the key element in our singing is not tuned but in truth, the key element in our singing is not style but substance's large churches are spending a fortune today on hiring men to do the creative arts and what they mean is will put on quite a show this Sunday at church is Wallace. I have you ever gotten a good glimpse of Jesus as the work was faithfully preached.

You have all the strobe light machines and smoke machines in special-effects and not sing every bit of that's wrong but what happens is you begin to depend on that instead of the long hard work of preaching Jesus to he's revealed the people and real in their hearts, and I will not allow this church to do anything that in any way against the crowd out Jesus being revealed to God's people. So while these things again in the themselves these extra allurements or maybe not.

This really evil they become evil because they track drowned out the essential man who joined our church some time ago and that he was in a another church and he said… The song God of the music minister said one Sunday you know they don't come here preaching. I come here my song service in this brother said yes problem you're drowning out what matters, and by the way you build it all that pretty soon the church across Bricktown has better smoke machines than you have the got better instrumentalist in bands than you have and also give the go chart toppers and they go to the next. Aren't you glad some decades ago we left the church hop cycle. You don't come here to half you come here know Jesus and serve him, and by the way, if you're not perfect at it. You're just like me were all striving together, humbling ourselves together, repenting together to go on for God. VIII and expresses and to express her expresses praise to God our audience at the end of the day. We want God to be, please tease the audience of all that were doing here with the children of Israel were in captivity.

The Babylonians had heard as they were musicians and singers of renown.

All of the world and they said sing us one of the songs of Zion. We've heard what kind of singers you guys.

Hebrews 1315 speaks as of of us lifting a sacrifice of praise to God. Not that it's this woeful thing we do without it.

It replaces all the workcenter rituals of bringing actual sacrifices. Now God just wants hearts that love him and pricing is not looking to that of the stuff to sub points here and were done wrong ANR outline.

We worship and praise him for all he has done for us, know the Bible says on in Psalm 40 verse three he put a new song in my mouth a song of praise to our God, what minute he put it there other words, he's changed me through his gospel.

He's changed me by the power of the spirit, bringing me to see my CNN breaking me to see the glories of the wonders and the forgiveness of Christ. And since he's changed my heart is a new song.

Will my lamps, you can keep saying in some of this stuff. The world's things and not all of its wrong but have you ever been listening to the radio and when the songs come on and you think, is that all you've got to sing about that. It is human love is beautiful and God-given.

That's not all wrong. Sometimes our site you guys got emotional feeling and sexuality as there is no that's not all there is. Joyce Meyer pleasures and way begin to taste these and grasp of these God has saved us and changed us makes us want to sing something new that the greater love than man's love one for another visit greater pleasure than sexual pleasure. That's a gift from God and it's wonderful but there's higher pleasures, but there's higher Joyce. There's higher things to say about so we coming to church, gas and churches that bring secular music in their Sunday morning worship the quote draw crap we've got better stuff to sing about why because he's done something for us.

We praise him because he's changed us in exchange what we want to sing about these put a new song in my mouth. Let's go to BNR outline. Not only do we consider him our audience and praise him because what is unforced, but because we know him, I really said that a thousand times.

Diverse ways already this morning, but he's not some distant object of power and woe to me. He's the God I know, I know. And because his words revealed them to me through his son Jesus Christ and you can't know him. Listen to me. You can't know him and not praise, saying, everybody's got a saying the same in the worst pleasant when talking about but if you know him there something in you. This is all he I deem worthy of all praise to know him is to price Paul and Silas are in prison. The Bible says in acts 16 and I start singing hymns to God because they know him. He's real in their heart. Ephesians 518.

Just do not get drunk with wine that's always a good idea that his dissipation will be filled with the spirit, filled with the spirit, something of mysteriously but whatever else it means that I made some in sweet harmony with Christ, with no unrepented of sand between us is a sweet fellowship with Christ, then Ephesians 519 says, speaking to one under one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs thinking of making building talk to the Lord, you know, the best thing about the most important thing about Ephesians 519 is is that it comes after Ephesians 518 they feel the spirit man. Your singing comes out as adult. We know if you're still going on today but years ago we had people that will go around and teach churches how to worship and praise. I met we had a guy here coming he taught. He told us to get on her toes same why we do that for our site. Then I sing.

That's all bad. Some of you need straighten up, sing a little bit, but I'd much much much much much rather faithfully preach the word of God and the power the spirit so that more of you are more walking feel the spirit and then the singing takes care of itself because he's our audience that were praising the unregenerate cannot praise him the unregenerate the unsaved man can't praise him money generally not anyway that he's welcoming it are pleased with it. They don't know what he's done for them and they don't know him. I member Dr. Jimmy Milliken my theological professor at Mid-America seminary.

This is good, not 30s seven years ago close, he set on this a new thing going on. That's teaching us to design our church services for the unchurched design. Our church services for those who don't know Christ. He said how can you design a worship service for the unregenerate us honest thing.

That's what's designing a car for a non-driver. You can't do it. It don't fit we don't design church for those who don't know Christ design church for those who do know Christ.

Hoping we can bring more and more people who don't know Christ and they'll be drawn to the attractiveness of Christ as is revealed in the word and revealed through our genuine worship.

If you design a church for the unsaved. The unregenerate and it's a non-spiritual church.

It's a non-service church.

It's a non-preaching church.

It's a non-Christian church is a non-praise church is a non-worship, church is all that requires regenerate people who know God, so it's not not a another evangelistic campaign could be a little different, but the body believes the local church is for God's children to be strengthened and at the same time be reaching as many Loftus we can.

I think want to be quick here because I can get started on some like this in your roast will be cold but I think what happens when guys and I mean sometimes in sincere guys get this talk about these things that we need a church that's attractive to the worldly man the unregenerate what they're doing their missing both God's means and gods in her trying to reach the end which they say is converting the lost in us. If we change these means these methods we can convert more. The law, but there's the great).

I want to remember this from your pastor. Let me give this preface statement.

I grade in strong motivation for all of us should always be to reach the lost gospel. However, that's not our greatest end. The greatest end is not getting folks saved the greatest end is the glory of God.

I don't want people getting saved because Jeff and Tom were clever and creative and could draw a lot of people that gives us glory. I want people to be saved under the church being the church biblically and then when people are safe. God gets the glory, as we did at the what the Corinthians would call the foolishness of preaching the world. So that's a declining approach does not trying or cultural are clever in any way, yes. But when God changes someone then God gets the credit because we didn't do any of the things we thought were effective. We get you God's truth and God converts the lost, the end is the glory of God and the means to reach the end this quote doing church" God's way of talking about the fact that we know him and how it evokes praise.

I'll never forget these were those things that happens in your life and adjustment come makes a reference point Pam and I had not been married long I had been in the ministry very long and we were at the amusement park in Nashville Tennessee that's been gone a long time to what we might be with the student group there, as were walking through the hub part, a priest walked by. I knew because he had the priestly collar and I pulled Pam and tongue-in-cheek. I said Pam what yourself that men's a priest. That man intercedes for me and before God that man is the intermediary that connects people to God. Not that's what their doctrine teaches. I'm not saying I believe that, and then all of a sudden it's as if I could put both hands in the air and started shouting because just this powerful clear confirmation came in to my soul. This is your priestess standing at the right hand of the father is Jesus Christ. Walking is not part sees walking through it in you fails, they never sleep. He's never weak he never misses anything he's always on the job he's ever faithful to those who need societies to keep saved all the light on the glorification of that something this thing about it. Just discard me a French we have so much to sing because we know him because all that he has done for us, so we want this to be a part of our overall curriculum, teaching pastors, the purpose of cognition worship is the symbol the church to worship the spiritually empowered preaching of the word to strengthen the saved convert the lost reinforced the faith through song lift praise to Christ our audience. We can get pastors there.

We got a bunch and we get them just just holding that in their hearts, believing it.

Here's where you come in grace like church. If you don't believe this that I'm a hypocrite. God's word is false without too much time together. If you don't embrace this.

I need to cancel those tickets to Brazil and those pastors are going to teach. But if you do and you walk in it and you have walking it even more than who knows how much God might choose to use us to impact so many others to the end that many many many many are saved in a sound glory of God focus, Christ honoring Bible saturated local churches are scattered all of the Grove globe for God's glory. The people of their communities would have to look at them and say this is isn't this is a clever thing. This is at their ingenuity's are there creativity's.

They're not bringing in worldly amusements.

God must be doing and therefore he gets the glory. There should be no explanation for the success of this church but God's doing it got system and beyond is not being very honest, there's no way in the world you to put up from it with me for four decades, unless God was doing something in your heart and I'm looking at some of you there's no output up some of you this long list cut done something my heart. But the fact that we persevere and love each other and go on. Look, here's what I'm saying. The glory of God is worth for the Tom's music program is not worth the just pulpit ministers not worth it with the board.

God's worth. Now bit young to be unanimous vote, standing vote if you'll affirm these things the best. You understand that we will continue to nothing here new at all this is decades old stuff for us to sharpen double bit. If you'll affirm, pastor, let's keep walking in this truth no matter what else goes on in the world of bad Mr. evangelical life. This is what will go stay with you'll affirm that with your preaching pastor this morning. Would you please stand told you get homesick vote on. If not you stay here would all talk at the surface are I love God's word in the truth of God's word wonderful. It is just wonderful. Here's my last word to you come, you sinners seek his grace whose wrath you cannot bear lead to the shelter of the cross, and find salvation.

There he will save you sick after you preached a doctoral message on the church had been very evangelistic.

You know what would our first church discipline case here many years ago was the ugliest, most horrible, most painful thing ever been through in my life. A staff member was removed from arrives awful. You know there's a man converted and that service and I still hear from him through a member of our church today.

You never know, this might be your time to come to faith in Jesus Christ