Ascension Presbyterian Lord's Day Worship

Ascension Presbyterian Church Longwood

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February 19, 2024

02:02: Good morning, my brothers and sisters in Christ grace and peace be unto you from God our
02:07: Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Welcome to our the corporate worship of our
02:12: God. Please stand and hear God call you to worship through his word
02:21: Behold God is my salvation. I Will trust and not be afraid for ya.
02:27: The Lord is my strength and song He also has become my salvation therefore with joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation and In that day you will say praise the
02:44: Lord call upon his name Declare his deeds among the peoples make mention of his name
02:51: Make mention that his name is exalted sing to the Lord for he has done excellent things
02:58: This is known in all the earth Cry out and shout. Oh a habitant
03:04: Oh inhabitant of Zion For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst
03:11: Let us pray Our Father in heaven We have come to worship and bow down and kneel before you the
03:20: Lord our maker For you are our God and we are the people of your pasture the sheep of your hand
03:29: We come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
03:36: He is our advocate with the Father He is the only mediator between God and man.
03:43: He always lives to make intercession for us Through him we come boldly to your throne of grace in his name.
03:54: We earnestly seek you Oh Lord our souls thirst for you our
04:00: Flesh yearns for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water
04:06: Bow your heavens and come down and have at the praises of your people Remember your promise
04:13: Oh Spirit of Christ To be present in the midst of your worshiping people when two or more are gathered in your name
04:23: Condescend to us grant us the joy of your fellowship speak to us through your word and Be blessed by our praise and adoration we ask in the name of our
04:35: Lord Jesus Christ Amen Amen Please kneel as you are able for the corporate confession of sin as we prepare to confess our sins to the
04:56: Lord We must remember that this is a great blessing that we can come to our Lord To our only advocate with the
05:03: Father and to confess our sins So let us join together in confessing our sins.
05:14: Oh Savior Help me for I am slow to learn and prone to forget
05:20: I am pained by my graceless heart my prayerless days my poverty of love my sloth in the heavenly race my sullied conscience wasted hours
05:43: Please stand and Receive these words of comfort from our
05:51: Lord in the assurance of pardon Come now and let us reason together says the
05:58: Lord Though your sins are as scarlet. They will be made as white as snow
06:04: Though they are red like crimson. They shall be like wool For I will be merciful to their iniquities
06:12: And I will remember their sins No more my brothers and sisters in Christ rejoice for in Christ your sins are forgiven.
06:21: Amen Please take up the hymnal and turn to hymn number 53
06:29: Praise to the Lord the Almighty hymn 53 Please take up the insert and look for the psalm labeled psalm 60
10:11: God in his holiness declared Psalm 60. This is our psalm of the week brother any words of instruction or encouragement
10:40: Thank you brother Please remain standing for the reading of God's Word from Revelation chapter 13
13:24: Revelation chapter 13 Then I stood on the sand of the sea and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea
13:32: Having seven heads and ten horns and on his horns ten crowns and on his heads a blasphemous name
13:40: Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard His feet were like the feet of a bear and his mouth the mouth of a lion
13:48: The dragon gave him his power his throne and great authority And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded and his deadly wound was healed and all the world marveled and followed the beast
14:03: So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast and they worshiped the beast saying who is like the beast who is able to make war with him and He has given a mouth speaking great things in blasphemy and he was given authority to continue for 42 months
14:20: Then he opened his mouth and blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name his tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven it was granted to him to make war with the
14:29: Saints and to overcome them and Authority was given him over every tribe tongue in nation all who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world if Anyone has an ear let him hear he who leads into captivity shall go into captivity
14:49: He who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience of the faith of the
14:56: Saints then I saw another beast coming out up from the earth and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon and he exercises all authority of the first beast in his presence and Causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast
15:14: He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men
15:21: And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by by those signs Which he has granted to do in the sight of the beast telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and live and He is granted power to give breath to the image of the beast
15:38: That the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed he causes all both small and great rich and poor free and slave to receive a mark on their right hand or on their
15:52: Foreheads and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his
15:59: Name here is wisdom. Let him Here's wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast for it is the number of a man.
16:08: His number is 666 this is the word of the Lord Let's continue our worship by singing the ancient creed of our faith the
16:21: Apostles Creed Who was conceived by the
16:44: Holy Spirit Suffered under Pontius Pilate Was crucified
17:04: The third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into heaven and Deceived at the right hand of God the father
17:20: Among there he will come to judge the living and the
17:31: Holy Spirit I believe the Holy Catholic Church the communion of saints
17:43: Forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the And the love and you may be seated.
18:05: I would like to ask now pastor Breno Ruben and Emily Santa Cruz you can bring
18:12: Piper up as well Ismael Rivas And Ian Wilson and Alexandra Breno to come up front we have the opportunity today.
18:24: Thanks be to God to see how People are entered into the membership of the church
18:32: We have both ways of entering into the membership of the church today by membership oath and Also by baptism as we've just sang the ancient creed of our faith
18:49: We know that no one is saved or enters into the church apart from Christ This was true not only to the church back to Pentecost, but the church at the very beginning back to ancient days
19:05: Membership in a local congregation is not optional All members of the
19:12: Invisible Church true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are commanded by God to submit to elders of a local congregation
19:21: To not forsake the gathering together of the Saints to love one another and to provoke one another to love and good works and To witness
19:33: For the Lord Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world Within the context of the
19:40: Invisible Church today. We have the opportunity to enter into membership These individuals that you see before us and in a moment we'll enter
19:51: Piper via baptism as we go through these membership vows and then baptismal vows
20:01: I would like to call your minds back to the time when you first were entered into the church
20:08: Maybe it was with your own baptism Or maybe it was more formally through membership vows
20:16: But as we consider these things here this morning We would like to call your mind back that you too
20:24: Are accountable members to the Lord Jesus Christ the one who purchased you So now
20:31: I will move to the front here a few questions of Each of you as you enter into the privileges and responsibilities of membership
20:55: We ask that you to ascend to the following declaration and promises
21:01: By which you enter into a solemn covenant With Christ and his church.
21:07: Do you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God?
21:14: Justly deserving his displeasure and without hope saved in his sovereign mercy
21:20: Do you believe in the
21:26: Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners and Do you receive depend upon him alone for salvation as he is offered in the gospel?
21:39: Do you Do you now resolve and promise in humble reliance upon the grace of the
21:49: Holy Spirit That you will endeavor to live it and become the followers of Christ Do you promise to serve
22:00: Christ and his church By supporting and participating in its worship and work to the best of your ability
22:12: Do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the church and to promise to further its purity and Now I would like to ask all of you and the members of this congregation
22:32: Congregation of Ascension Presbyterian Do you resolve to remember your membership vows and resolve the whole team members accountable to covenant membership?
22:44: For the glory of God and the peace and purity of Christ's church
22:49: Our gracious God We thank you for your mercy
23:02: From death to life and darkness And then you have made us very members of this body through the blood of our
23:12: Savior Jesus Christ We ask you Lord watch over That you would give them the strength
23:22: When they meet every trial You would give them the grace to love and serve their brothers and sisters in Christ The great father that he would be with Christopher and I That we care for them
23:38: Lord we relive on all these things and the grace that comes to all of you
23:43: We ask this in the name of Christ You may be seated
24:10: You'd like to ask the Santa Cruz's to remain You haven't sit. Okay. What a glorious occasion brother.
24:35: It's wonderful to welcome people into the body I'm so thankful for each of you and what your gifts will mean to our fellowship
24:46: Today I return to our normal liturgy of baptism And so just a few things to be reminded of as we enter into this time of baptizing this covenant child
24:59: Piper Santa Cruz The ordinance of baptism is administered by the church in obedience to the command of Christ That all the nations should be converted baptized and taught all that Christ has commanded
25:18: Baptism represents and seals our union with Christ It pictures the outpouring of the
25:27: Holy Spirit and resulting regeneration adoption and cleansing from sin
25:34: By baptism, we are admitted into the covenant community
25:39: And made members of the body of Christ Underlying the great diversity of biblical revelation is a unifying and singular covenant of grace
25:55: Abraham had the gospel preached to him. We learned in Galatians chapter 3
26:01: He believed God and his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness
26:08: And he entered into a covenant with God signified by the sign of circumcision
26:15: Yet he was commanded to apply this sign of his adult faith to his infant child and all infant children thereafter why?
26:27: Because of God's promise which is found in Genesis 17. I will be
26:33: God to you and to your children the saving purposes of God include the children of believers
26:41: Because he is their God as well as their parents God The children also receive the sign of the covenant and are admitted into the new covenant community
26:56: We move to the New Testament No new principle is introduced Children are not now excluded from the covenant community rather in an era in which we rightly speak of a greater
27:09: Covenant with better promises Hebrews 8 Children do not have a reduced but a more privileged status at Pentecost in the delivery of the first Christian sermon
27:22: Peter said for the promise is for you and for your children and For all who are afar off as many as the
27:30: Lord our God Shall call to himself Acts chapter 2 The echo of the promise made to Abraham is clear children have the same covenantal status in this glorious new covenant as in the old they are set apart wholly members of the covenant community and recipients of the sign of the covenant and I Wanted to point out to you because of first Corinthians 7
28:00: God is so committed to this principle He welcomes children who are only have one believing parents into the family of God That says the length and the extension of God's grace toward his people
28:17: In Acts chapter 16, we learned that households were baptized and when Jesus took infants into his arms and blessed them in Luke chapter 18 he demonstrated not only that passive infants may receive grace, but also that God continues
28:33: To love our children through us Santa Cruz family you have
28:41: Shown great love to your children by bringing them into the church and this we rejoice.
28:48: I Have a word of exhortation to you the people of God. We did this last week.
28:53: So it should be fresh But all who are here present whether you were baptized as a baby or as an adult or somewhere in between To be reminded of your own baptism you have
29:07: Identified yourself the church has with the Lord Jesus Christ and there are covenant obligations and stipulations that you must uphold today
29:17: Recommit and renew your commitment to be a faithful follower of Christ in every respect
29:25: Remember the privileges of this covenant to which you have entered Remember that you are responsible to live as Holy Ones and serve
29:33: God with great joy and Thanksgiving And let the parents here especially be charged to not neglect the means of grace
29:45: Reuben and Emily be sure that you provide a godly example that you pray with and for your child that you instruct
29:52: Piper in the Word of God That you make use of the catechisms of the church that you bring her to the public worship and all the activities of the church
30:05: You want to ask us to pray together now? Oh Lord Jesus we give you great.
30:14: Thanks for this gift of a child We thank you
30:20: Oh Lord for your covenant promises to be God to us and to our children And Oh Lord, we pray that either today or sometime very soon in the near future
30:31: That you would grant the inward reality that corresponds to the outward washing
30:37: That the child will be received into the protection and care of Christ in his church That even as Christ has been the
30:45: God of Piper's parents That the Lord would be Piper's God as well
30:52: That this child Oh Lord would be granted the gift of the Holy Spirit That her heart would be renewed and regenerated that she would grow up never knowing a day apart from Christ Like John filled with the
31:06: Holy Spirit from the womb like David trusting while still a nursing infant
31:14: I'm gonna ask The Santa Cruz family this mail
31:21: Piper All of you to come forward for the mark tick
31:43: Procedurally you may have noticed that They are members
32:03: I Have some questions for you the parents
32:15: Do you acknowledge your child's need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and the renewing grace of the
32:24: Holy Spirit Do you Do you trust in God's covenant promises on their behalf and Do you look in faith to the
32:35: Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation as you do your own? do you unreservedly dedicate your child to God and promise and humble reliance upon divine grace
32:49: That you will endeavor to set before them Christ and his gospel
32:55: That you would provide her a godly example That you will pray pray with and for her
33:01: That you will teach her the doctrines of our holy faith And that you will strive by all the means of God's appointment to bring this precious young lady
33:13: Piper up and the nurture and admonition Congregation I'm going to ask you to stand we live in a covenant community and the parents have the first responsibility that the church has
33:41: We're making a very solemn vow Congregation of Ascension Presbyterian Church Do you as a church body?
33:58: Responsibility We do
34:19: Piper Santa Cruz, I baptize you in the name of the
34:25: Father and of the Son and of the
34:31: Holy Spirit Amen Let us pray
34:43: Almighty God we praise you for your sovereign grace in Christ Jesus We pray that that you would guide and protect this child
34:54: That she will grow daily in the love and knowledge of Christ That she will serve
35:00: God all her days and live for your glory That her parents will show wisdom
35:09: Discernment and diligence as they seek to rear her in the nurture and admonition of the
35:15: Lord That she will live so as to be a credit to her family and to her church and to her
35:24: Lord We ask all these things Trusting in the one who has begun this good work in her
35:32: But we ask it in his name Amen You be seated
35:38: Well, we were continue our worship again by singing
36:18: So if you'll please stand and open your hymnals to him number 580 lead on Oh King eternal 580
38:42: Amen Please now make preparations for the prayers of the people.
39:05: Let us pray together. Oh God from whom come all holy desires all good counsel and all just words
39:16: Give to us your service Peace The merits of Jesus Christ our
39:35: Savior who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit God forever
39:41: Amen for the Church of Jesus Christ That it may be filled with truth and love and be found without fault at the day of your coming
39:53: We pray to you. Oh Lord for all ministers
40:53: Missionaries our denomination and the mission of the church That in faithful witness the gospel may be preached.
41:01: We pray to you. Oh Lord for those in positions of public trust
42:52: That they may serve justice and promote the dignity and freedom of every person. We pray to you.
42:59: Oh Lord for the poor
44:39: The persecuted the sick and all who suffer for refugees prisoners and all who are in danger
44:48: That they may be relieved and protected. We pray to you. Oh Lord for this congregation and for those who are present and for those who are absent that We may be delivered from hardness of heart and show forth your glory to all in all that we do.
46:41: We pray to you Oh Lord Finding ourselves in agreement with all these things.
47:43: We join our voices together and say Amen, please stand and look in for the insert that has our psalm of the month
47:52: Psalm 56 be gracious unto me. Oh God Psalm 56
51:21: Amen, please turn in your
51:37: Bibles with me to the epistle of James and chapter 4 James chapter 4
51:48: I Want to remind you that this is God's holy and infallible word.
51:54: I'm going to read the entire chapter Where do wars and fights come from among you?
52:06: Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members you lust and you do not have you murder?
52:14: and covet and cannot obtain you fight and war Yet you do not have
52:21: Because you do not ask you ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures
52:30: Adulterers and adulterous is do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
52:39: Whoever therefore wants to make himself a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God Or do you think that the scripture says in vain the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously
52:53: But he gives more grace Therefore he says God resists the proud
52:59: But gives grace to the humble Therefore submit to God resist the devil and he will flee from you
53:08: Draw near to God and he will draw near to you Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double -minded lament and mourn and weep
53:21: Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom
53:26: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up Do not speak evil of one another brethren
53:36: He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother Speaks evil of the law and judges the law
53:44: But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge
53:50: There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy who are you to judge another?
54:00: Come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go such and such a city
54:06: Spend a year there buy and sell and make a profit Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow for what is your life?
54:17: It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away Instead you ought to say if the
54:25: Lord wills We shall live and do this or that But now you boast in your arrogance
54:33: All such boasting is evil and now the singular verse that we'll be considering today
54:40: Therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it to him
54:49: It is sin May the Lord be pleased with our consideration of his most holy word.
54:55: Please pray with me now. Oh Lord, I pray for these your people
55:05: That you would appropriately convict and Show the error of our ways, but also
55:12: Lord that you would comfort us with the wondrous love of Christ Oh Lord, show us the good that we ought to do that.
55:22: We might more faithfully lived up to the holy name By which we were called and we ask all these things in the name above all names in the name of the
55:31: Lord Jesus Christ our King Amen Please be seated The title of the message today is the good you ought to do and We're going to get hit with a convicting subject and that is the sins of omission today,
55:57: I've created a Six word thesis for the message. Hopefully all of this will be reflected under this heading
56:06: Idleness in the face of duty idleness in the face of duty the sins of omission
56:16: The good you ought to do and this good that we ought to be done ought to be done by us is
56:24: Performed toward God and toward our neighbor idleness in the face of duty sins of Omission this is the central point.
56:42: I want to lay out some general scriptural principles our confessional standards offer a great question and answer to this question of what sin is and We blow through the first part because we're more familiar with the ideas of committing sinful acts so the question is what is sin and The answer is sin is any want of conformity unto
57:11: It's very important or transgression of the law of God when we think about sin we normally think about the
57:19: Transgression of the law of God the first part of that answer is equally important It's the want of conformity unto the inaction is
57:31: Sinful The locus classicus texts of this subject which we would turn to most commonly
57:41: I'd like us to do it It's found in Luke chapter 10 He's turned to Luke chapter 10, and I have a couple one of them which will be a little bit more
57:54: Surprising there are many texts so you shouldn't feel that this list is exhausted We could not go through all of the sins of omission nearly every command that we could state in terms of transgression we could also
58:06: State and talk about in the sense of inaction so we could list almost every command in the scripture in these two ways
58:13: We're going to focus on a couple just to help us understand the concept that James is relaying to his hearers
58:22: Luke chapter 10 and this is starting in verse 25 and behold a certain lawyer
58:37: Stood up and tested him saying teacher What shall
58:45: I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him what is written in the law.
58:52: What is your reading of it and He answered and said
58:59: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself
59:11: Jesus responds the text says he said to him you have answered rightly do this and You will live
59:18: I should point out to you in verse 27 the summation of the law of God a further summary of the ten words of the
59:28: Ten Commandments a Huge portion of our duty and obligation is found in our action
59:36: We are called to love God in a certain way We're called to love our neighbor in a certain way and you can say well,
59:45: I haven't violated the third commandment today I haven't taken the Lord's name in vain.
59:50: Am I keeping the spirit of this command? The sin of omission is the failure to worship
59:57: God and to honor him in this way To love him with the entirety of our person
01:00:03: To not only not steal from my neighbor But to promote all the good for my neighbor that I possibly can you see it's the activity in our inaction
01:00:13: That is the thing we have to worry about now for us We should be under some conviction today
01:00:19: For us. I feel that our sins of omission
01:00:25: They're they're quieter. They're more acceptable They're not as loud
01:00:32: For us the sins of omission may be greater than our violations and transgressions of the law
01:00:39: We will see that more in a few minutes continuing the lawyer asks a lawyer like question and who is my neighbor and Jesus answered a
01:00:56: Certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves
01:01:03: Who stripped him of his clothing wounded him and departed leaving him half -dead
01:01:10: Now by chance a certain priest came down that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side
01:01:18: So the context here is there is a Obviously a man who's a part of the nation
01:01:27: Israel he's going from Jerusalem to Jericho and he's going to be passed by by two men
01:01:34: Who according to their understanding of the law by birth and by occupation they know better They know the good they ought to do but they don't do it
01:01:44: The priest comes he sees him verse 31 the ending he passed by on the other side
01:01:52: Likewise a Levite when he arrived at the place came and looked and passed by on the other side but a certain
01:02:02: Samaritan Think John for the woman at the well Jews have no dealings with Samaritans Half breeds worshiping on the wrong mountain accepting only the five books of Moses Detestable in the sight of the
01:02:20: Jewish people. They are dogs Maybe worse than a
01:02:25: Gentile because they betrayed the heritage that was given to them in some measure
01:02:32: This is a very convicting very powerful very sharp very piercing heavy blows from Christ here in this explanation a
01:02:43: Samaritan as he journeyed came where he was And when he saw him he had compassion
01:02:52: So he went to him and bandaged his wounds Pouring on oil and wine and he set him on his own animal brought him to an end
01:03:02: And took care of him The Samaritan knew the good that he ought to do and he did it
01:03:10: It was very costly to him personally and he's in effectively ministering to and helping his enemy here
01:03:20: The next day verse 35 when he departed he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said to him take care of him and Whatever you spend when
01:03:31: I come again, I will repay you So he's made this great sacrificial act to patch him up in this triage to give him a place to stay
01:03:39: He has to travel on his own business and he says whatever is charged to this man's account
01:03:45: I'll pay it when I come through The question is answered
01:03:51: Asked by Jesus I should say verse 36. So which of these three? Do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?
01:04:02: And he said he who showed mercy on him and Jesus said to him go and do likewise
01:04:11: You and I May not run over our brother in the road
01:04:17: But do we stop to help him? We may even say hey brother.
01:04:22: I'm gonna pray for you. I hope that tire gets fixed and keep going This requirement is a higher moral and ethical obligation and duty to our brethren
01:04:35: Not only in the church, but without to seek their good to help them
01:04:40: To do the good that we know we ought to do. This is very costly.
01:04:46: It's very messy It's very very inconvenient to love this way
01:04:52: Well, there's another important one who? Section I'd like you to consider still in Luke.
01:04:58: I chose these to be close together somewhat turn to Luke chapter 12 Just a couple chapters over this one's going to be very short
01:05:07: Luke chapter 12 Again, we want to understand this category of sin
01:05:20: Sins of omission that the good that we are to do that we often fail to do and the
01:05:25: Lord has given us ample Evidence in Scripture to for us to understand
01:05:32: I'll begin reading in verse 42 Who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his master will make ruler over his household?
01:05:43: To give them their portion of food and do season Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes
01:05:53: Truly I say to you that he will make him ruler ruler over all that he has
01:05:59: But if that servant says in his heart, my master is delaying his coming Here's the the sinful part
01:06:09: The master's eyes aren't on me. I'm free to kind of do what I want
01:06:16: Integrity demands that we do the right thing even when no one's looking right an Integrity before the
01:06:24: Lord tells us the Lord is always watching So we have an obligation to do right no matter what the circumstances inconvenient
01:06:30: It's not expedient in every occasion. We must do the right thing
01:06:36: My master is delaying That he begins to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and be drunk and it's obvious That this behavior is very contrary to the will of the master
01:06:52: Verse 46 says the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and An hour when he is not aware and will cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers
01:07:07: It's a pretty harsh penalty Verse 47 says and that servant who knew his master's will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes
01:07:18: But he who did not know yet committed things deserving
01:07:26: Of stripes shall be beaten with few. I Want you to listen very carefully
01:07:33: For everyone to whom much is given from him much will be required And to him to whom much has been committed of him.
01:07:44: They will ask the more O people of God how much Have you been given?
01:07:53: Salvation union with Christ communion with God unity communion with his people
01:08:01: The apple of God's eye his affection rests upon you his children
01:08:09: He has lavished grace upon grace upon grace on us and to us
01:08:17: Much has been given to us and much is required
01:08:26: We can't be those who give inaction complacency apathy laziness when action is required
01:08:39: We'll talk more about that in just a moment One that may be a surprise to you.
01:08:45: I want you to turn to Luke chapter 15 In the parable of the prodigal son.
01:08:52: I appreciate you turning with me Because I believe this is a neglected part of the church's understanding of sin the sins of omission now the parable of the prodigal son
01:09:09: Usually focuses and and we think about that the son who went away
01:09:16: The son who took his father's wealth and treated him as if he was dead and spent it on profligate living
01:09:27: Begin reading in verse 11 Luke 15 Again we're looking for Not so much the sins that are committed the transgressions obviously of the law of God but the want of conformity the omission a
01:09:47: Certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father father. Give me the portion of goods that falls to me
01:09:55: He's viewing his father believe me in the context that his father's dead he wants his inheritance
01:10:02: This is an ungrateful son saying I want you dad to give what's coming to me. It's very wicked
01:10:08: So he divided to them his livelihood in verse 13 and Not many days after the younger son gathered all together
01:10:20: Journeying to a far country and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living
01:10:25: But when he had spent all there arose a severe famine in that land and began to be in want and he went and joined
01:10:34: Himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
01:10:41: Of course the picture is He is a servant to unclean animals.
01:10:46: You can see the depth of his fall. He's a Jewish man He doesn't have any dealings with unclean animals.
01:10:52: And now his job is to feed the unclean animals He's fallen to a low place the lowest of places
01:11:00: He says he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate and no one gave him anything
01:11:08: But when he came to himself He said how many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger
01:11:15: I will rise and go to my father and I will say to him father I have sinned against heaven and before you for I am no longer worthy to be called your son
01:11:26: Make me like one of your hired servants and he rose and came to his father when he was still a great way off his father saw him and Had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him
01:11:41: The son said to him father. I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and I am no longer worthy to be called your son
01:11:51: But the father said to his servants bring out the best robe and put it on him put a ring on his hand and sandals on His feet and bring the fatted calf here and kill it and let us eat and be merry
01:12:04: For this my son was dead and is alive again He was lost and is found and they began to be married now pay close attention now
01:12:18: We forget about this part of the parable there is a lot of sins of omission and the older son
01:12:32: Now his older son was in the field And as he came and drew near to the house
01:12:42: He heard music and dancing He calls one of the servants and asked them what these things meant
01:12:48: He said to him your brother has come and because he has received him safe and sound your father has killed the fatted calf
01:13:02: But he was angry and would not go in Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
01:13:09: So he answered and said to his father lo these many years I have been serving you. I never transgressed your commandment at any time and yet you never gave me a young goat
01:13:20: That I might make merry with my friends But as soon as this son of yours came who has devoured your livelihood with harlots
01:13:29: You killed the fatted calf for him And he said to him son.
01:13:36: You are always with me And all that I have is yours It was right that we should make merry and be glad for your brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found
01:13:51: What were the sins I want you to start thinking now, what are some of the sins of the older brother
01:13:59: First he did not rejoice in his brother's repentance When a sinner turns back to the
01:14:08: Lord the angels Sing in heaven the people of God should respond with rejoicing and encouragement
01:14:14: He should have been running out and kissing his brother and saying oh, I'm so glad you returned home he doesn't rejoice in his brother's repentance and Deeply abiding within the responsible older brother it seems
01:14:35: He was very ungrateful for the provision in the Lord that he had he was not one who was giving thanks
01:14:44: It seems That this brother may have had the same heart within him, but he was playing the long game
01:14:53: He wanted his father's wealth. He wanted his father's property and he knew he had to comply to do it
01:14:59: Maybe I'm speculating maybe his heart wasn't so different than the younger brother.
01:15:05: It was quiet It was hidden. It was concealed. He was a crafty wise kind of man
01:15:13: How many of us are Could only see the want in our lives. Oh How the
01:15:20: Lord has abundantly supplied for us as people I wonder If we spend too much think time thinking about what we don't have instead of giving thanks for what we do and maybe most profoundly
01:15:35: I Think the older brother doesn't honor his father He breaks the fifth commandment.
01:15:43: It's evidence by his ingratitude Look how selfishly he responds and how he's almost seething.
01:15:54: Look how many years I have been serving you I've never transgressed your commandment at any time.
01:16:03: You have owed it to me You won't even give me a young goat
01:16:10: That I might make merry with my friends you and I Can certainly be prodigal sons, but I fear that we might be the older brother
01:16:23: That we fail to actively love our father and our brother our father in heaven and our neighbor as we ought
01:16:31: So we can get away with this sin. The other ones we can't this one we can get away with by the
01:16:37: Lord and his glorious mercy reveal these things to us that That we might be those who repent and turn from our sins of omission well
01:16:50: I'm not going to turn there But I want to bring to remember it's one last one
01:16:56: And that is the sin with David and Bathsheba and as has been recounted by many great scholars
01:17:03: Essentially, all of the commandments are ultimately broken in his dealings with Bathsheba But in 2nd
01:17:11: Samuel 11 in verse 1 we have a very important interpretive clue as to why all of these things happen and It's a sin of omission that gets the ball rolling for David with Bathsheba David's sin with Bathsheba Started with David's idleness in the face of duty.
01:17:38: It happened in the spring of the year At the time when
01:17:44: Kings go out to battle That David sent
01:17:49: Joab and his servants with him in all Israel and they destroyed the people
01:17:55: Ammon and besieged Raba and Here it is Five words
01:18:03: But David remained at Jerusalem David should have been fighting in the battle
01:18:13: David should have been leading his men. And so he said all these sins of omission. They're not such a big deal these sins of omission have catastrophic consequences
01:18:24: What kind of consequences are there if a father fails to discipline his son to correct him what kind of Consequences would there be if you let an armed intruder hurt your family and he did nothing to stop them
01:18:45: What kind of consequences were there for Adam who Didn't restrain and keep out talking serpents out of God's garden
01:18:56: The sins of omission are great They're weighty they're heavy in action
01:19:06: When action is required do you today are you worshiping
01:19:16: God? With all that you are with all that your strength. I think we could have left some of that in reserve today do you adore him and honor him and praise him and delight in him as your joy
01:19:37: Do you hang on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God the word
01:19:44: Do you have great? Thanksgiving for all that he has done
01:19:51: Do you go to scripture first when you encounter a problem and seek an answer there?
01:19:58: Do you meditate on his word day and night? Do you make use of any and all of the spiritual disciplines?
01:20:09: Husbands Do you love your wife as Christ loved the church
01:20:15: I know you love her But do you love her that way there's sins of omission there?
01:20:23: failures to do that Wives do you see that you respect your husband principally you do, but are you actively?
01:20:32: honoring and respecting your husband You're not defaming your neighbor, but do you?
01:20:40: Promote their good name Do you step into the
01:20:47: The real messiness of their life and turn them away from sin Or do you go outside on the other side of the road and go the other way?
01:20:57: There's lots of good that we ought to do That we do not do
01:21:07: How often do we say to our family? I've said it to my children. I've regretted it stay out of the conflict
01:21:14: Doesn't really concern you It could be wise or it could be inaction
01:21:23: We're called to be peacemakers. Maybe we're the ones who have been called to make peace between the warring parties
01:21:31: We really don't want to get sullied up with that. We're tired. We don't want to we have our own problems What about in the life and ministry and mission of the church someone else is doing it
01:21:46: Every day every week Not condemning you Someone else is paying for it.
01:21:53: Someone else is studying. Someone else is praying Someone else is gonna clean up at the end. Someone else will do it
01:22:00: We're the people we have to do it Our inaction is sin
01:22:09: There's a couple of other words that I think fit And I want to bring that to your mind
01:22:16: I'm gonna try to cut this a little bit short So what I could say there's some related sins and if you're taking notes,
01:22:24: I would write them down the first is complacency
01:22:34: The second is abdication your responsibility, but you're hoping someone else will take care of it
01:22:41: The third is laziness and fourth is apathy just don't care
01:22:50: All of these are grand sins of omission all of these
01:22:56: Shorten the blessing in our lives and our sources of our conflict with one another and the reason there's a lack of peace in us
01:23:03: Could be partially because we're failing to address these sins of inaction
01:23:13: We've learned in James that Wisdom is the right application of knowledge
01:23:22: If any of you lacks knowledge, have you? failed to open your Bibles To make use of the means of grace
01:23:30: We've been learning a lot of great things about the doctrine of the church in Sunday School and many of you are not there
01:23:39: Have you when encountering a situation? Have you prayed and sought counsel of godly men?
01:23:47: Or have you tried to do it in your own? Lack of wisdom. We know that if we lack wisdom that we can ask
01:23:53: God and he will grant it. Have you asked him? for it It seems that the foolish man
01:24:03: Not the wise man knows the good he ought to do and fails to do it
01:24:14: Ecclesiastes 9 says whatever you your hand finds to do do it with all your might
01:24:19: It's a hard verse for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom and shale
01:24:27: To which you were going Proverbs 21 whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered
01:24:39: Proverbs 18 whoever slack in his work is a brother to him who destroyed have you slacked off at the office a bit?
01:24:47: Your brother to one who destroys sins of inaction have great consequences First John chapter 3 if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need yet Closes his heart against him.
01:25:04: How does God's love abide in him? Little children let us not love in word or talk
01:25:11: And boy the reformed world needs this we got a lot of talk. We've got a lot of word
01:25:19: But indeed and in truth, that's how we're to love one another those things are very important We're to love indeed and in truth.
01:25:27: We talk about it, but we don't do it sins of Inaction The last one
01:25:35: I'll give today and the defense of this idea is this in Romans 12. Let love be without hypocrisy a poor what is evil
01:25:45: Do you have a profound hatred for what is evil? I think there's a sin of omission for us.
01:25:52: I don't think we hate it It's useful to us in some way or should say it's it's comfortable.
01:26:00: We're used to it We are called to a poor evil
01:26:06: Do you equally with with great fervency and effort and and striving cling to what is good?
01:26:15: Are you kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love? Do you really love the brethren?
01:26:23: Or is it just a principle? Yeah, we love one another is it active love for the brethren?
01:26:31: Do you give preference to one another? Is your diligence lagging?
01:26:40: Are you fervent in spirit or lukewarm? Do you rejoice and hope are you patient and tribulation do you continue steadfastly in prayer?
01:26:52: Distributing to the needs of the Saints. Are you given to hospitality brethren? the people of God are failing to act
01:27:04: When action is required well
01:27:10: Quickly, let's turn back to James. I'm going to provide a conclusion There are two principles in James that I think are very important to understand verse 17 of chapter 4
01:27:32: I'm going to remind you of those The first is that definition at the end of chapter 1 of what pure and undefiled religion is
01:27:44: We pray for orphans and widows But do we actually visit them in their trouble
01:27:52: See the Samaritan he goes all the way in the visitation, doesn't he?
01:28:00: You and I says I'm praying for you Hopefully you actually go follow through and pray for them.
01:28:06: But that's it And the second description about keeping yourself unspotted from the world
01:28:14: I wonder do you actually draw near to God and hunger and thirst for righteousness that you might not be
01:28:22: Unspotted from the world the sin of omission and practical holiness would be to not go hard after God To to not be immersed in his word to not be a person who's praying
01:28:36: Continually, it's it's an idea that say hey I'm not going to be corrupted by the world if you are not
01:28:41: Drawing near to God with the means of grace that he has supplied you are going to be spotted by the world and finally
01:28:57: Referencing the catalog that could have I have a list of things all through James. We don't have time for that.
01:29:06: I think the The real question for us is do we really love God? Do we really love our neighbor if you really fulfill the royal law
01:29:18: James 2 8 According to the scripture you shall love your neighbor as yourself
01:29:26: You do well But if you show partiality you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors
01:29:36: Of course it continues if you stumble on one point you're guilty of all brethren
01:29:42: I can't spoon -feed perfectly the application for you, but I run
01:29:49: I want you now To to really sincerely and earnestly ask the question
01:29:56: What are the areas in my life that require action Obedience Faith and trust in the
01:30:03: Lord, but I have given inaction What failures are there in your love for God and your love for neighbor?
01:30:14: Identify them that you might repent and walk in fresh and new obedience
01:30:20: Should be a convicting time for us Take just a second
01:30:26: Have something else there is a list of Omissions that cry out against me
01:30:45: And they cry out against you But we have a
01:30:51: Savior who is Christ the Lord and there are no sins of omission with him this glorious salvation of Christ encompasses not only the
01:31:04: Transgressions of the explicit law of God, but every failure of ours
01:31:09: To conform to it. Oh, if you be in Christ today, you should be rejoicing this grand
01:31:21: Impediment which should keep you from communion with God and fellowship with his people has been taken away in Christ He bid you again to remember this great
01:31:33: Salvation that he has supplied and now with the the grace washing over you as the waters of baptism washed over Piper With that grace now you go and walk in fresh new obedience
01:31:45: You put to death the sins of the flesh and you look and you seek out and you ask God.
01:31:50: What are the sins of omission? What are the areas of life the good
01:31:57: I ought to do that I'm not doing In what ways am
01:32:04: I failing to act when Action is required Probably the most memorable theme of James is to be doers of the word and not hearers only and I think a huge percentage of that Command that imperative is found in this area of the sins of omission
01:32:26: We have to search it out and be doers of the word. I praise
01:32:32: God for the Lord Jesus Christ and his salvation and his forgiveness and his
01:32:38: Consecration and sanctification that we too again might walk in newness of life.
01:32:44: Amen Let's pray together. Oh Lord.
01:32:51: I thank you for your promises We fall so short, but we have a
01:32:57: Savior who never does. Oh My sin the thought of it
01:33:04: The weight of it is nailed to the cross. Oh Lord Jesus. Thank you.
01:33:11: I pray your people will be equally sober and circumspect about their lives and their faithfulness, but That will be eclipsed by their great joy and the salvation that you have supplied
01:33:24: Oh Lord help us to be a thankful and grateful people maybe one of our greatest sins and our failure to worship and honor and adore you is our failure to to act in this way
01:33:37: And I ask all these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ Amen, our
01:33:49: Lord So kind to us We should respond with a thanksgiving offering for the great work that he has done
01:34:01: So now we come to the time of worship where we present our tithes and offerings
01:34:41: Please stand and let's pray together. Oh Lord, I thank you for the work.
01:34:49: You have given us to do we pray for The advance of your kingdom the strengthening of the church
01:34:59: The relief of the Saints in need although we pray that these gifts would be multiplied in their usefulness in your kingdom
01:35:06: We ask this in Jesus name Amen. Oh Brethren, let us respond to the great things.
01:35:12: We have witnessed and heard today in the joyful Exuberant singing of the glory of pottery.
01:35:19: Let us begin Be with you
01:35:57: Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the
01:36:03: Lord It Is right in a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you
01:36:13: Oh, holy Lord Father Almighty everlasting God because you sent your beloved son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs and him of Everlasting life that when you shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world
01:36:29: We may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing Therefore with angels and archangels and with the whole company of heaven we praise and magnify your glorious name evermore praising you and Singing please be seated
01:38:03: I'm gonna ask you to pray with me now. Oh Lord, you are such a good
01:38:11: God a God who keeps promises and a God who provides for all the needs of his people
01:38:18: We thank you for the bread in the wine which communicate to us the body and blood of Christ crucified for us and our
01:38:29: Union with him and his union with us and we pray Oh Lord that these your people would be nourished and strengthened today as They partake of the sacrament this glorious means of grace that you have provided for us your people
01:38:46: We ask all this in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. Amen Our Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread
01:38:56: Be a given. Thanks. He blessed and broke it and gave it This is my body
01:39:05: Likewise, he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood
01:39:10: All of you for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the
01:39:17: Lord's death until he comes Therefore you proclaim the faith
01:39:28: Let's approach the table with humility and Expectancy, let's pray together.
01:39:35: We do not presume to come to this your table Seen But in your manifold and great mercies
01:39:46: We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table
01:39:51: You are the same Lord who always shows mercy Oh People of God Christ our
01:40:21: Passover was sacrificed for us The gifts of God for you the people of God Well, we've had some great privileges today and it seems fitting that we would make this commitment together in light of this
01:50:28: Let's pray together in unison Almighty and ever -living God We thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food
01:50:38: Precious body and blood of your son our Savior Jesus Christ and for assuring us in these holy mysteries
01:50:54: Grant us this other benefit that you will never allow us to forget these things
01:51:00: But having them imprinted on our hearts may we grow and increase daily in the faith which is at work in every good
01:51:09: Send us out to do the work you have given us to do to love and serve you as faithful Witnesses of Christ our
01:51:18: Lord to him to you and to the Holy Spirit the honor and glory
01:51:26: Please stand Let us give glory to God now
01:52:05: He's who brought up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead That great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant
01:52:15: Make you complete in every good work to do his will Working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom the glory be forever and ever