Church Service on January 14th, 2018

Psalm 83: A Community Lament for God to Defend His People

They will perish, but you will remain. They will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe and they will pass away, but you are the same and your years have no end. We thank you, our God, that you are our eternal God, our infinite God, and yet you've chosen to reveal yourself to us as finite creatures, even bringing us into relationship with you, Father, through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

And we gather this morning, our God, to celebrate that relationship that we have with you. And we desire, our God, that relationship with you would be enhanced by our gathering together in your Son's name.

And so we humbly ask that you would help us, Lord, each and every one of us, as we seek to worship you in accordance with your word. As you fill us with the blessed Holy Spirit, we pray, our God, that you would give each of us recall of your word and the truths of your word.

We pray, our God, that the blessed Holy Spirit would also do a work of grace in our souls regarding our own sin, that we might receive grace from you to overcome sin defeated in our lives, that we might go forth in this place resolved to live more righteously before you.

And so may you accomplish your good purposes in Christ, in us, our God. And we do pray, perhaps, for one here that may be a stranger to saving grace, that you would reveal, Father, yourself through Jesus Christ in the gospel in a wonderful and glorious way.

We pray the blessed Holy Spirit would cause that new birth in which a great transformation takes place, an imparting of a principle of life and love for you and love for your word, love for righteousness.

And so may you accomplish your good purposes in Christ this morning, our Father, as we commit ourselves to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Good morning, everyone. Great to see you here today on this beautiful Lord's Day. Our first hymn is found in the red hymnal. It is number 457 -457. Please stand and let's sing. Come thou fount of every blessing to my heart To sing thy grace Streams of mercy never ceasing Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet. Sung by flaming tongues above Raise the mount unfixed upon it Mount of God's unchanging love Here I raise my Ebenezer Hither to my thy help I'm come And I hope by thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger Wandering from the fold of God He'll rescue me from danger. Interpose his precious blood Oh to grace how great a debtor Really I am constrained to be Let that grace now like a fetter Bind my wandering heart to thee Prone to wander Lord I feel it Prone to leave the God I love Take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above Amen, please be seated.

Well, let's turn in our Bibles to our Old Testament reading, which today is Psalm 83. Let's hear someplace. There it is. This is a Psalm of Asaph. It was of course one of the songs that were sung within the temple setting of ancient Israel.

And this is sometimes described as a community lament. In other words, the people of God collectively expressing their distress and concern of some situation, some condition that was troubling them greatly.

They usually end on a note of optimism and hope and faith in prayer. And I think that we'll see that here in Psalm 83. A song, a Psalm of Asaph. Oh God, do not keep silence. Do not hold your peace or be still, oh God.

For behold, your enemies make an uproar. Those who hate you have raised their heads. They lay crafty plans against your people. They consult together against your treasured ones. They say, come, let us wipe them out as a nation.

Let the name of Israel be remembered no more. For they conspire with one accord against you. They make a covenant. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagrites, Gabal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.

Asher also has joined them. They are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, who were destroyed at Endor, who became dung for the ground.

Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeb, all their princes like Zeba and Zalmunna, who said, let us take possession for ourselves and of the pastors of God. Oh my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.

As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze. So may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane. Fill their faces with shame that they may seek your name, O Lord.

Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever. Let them perish in disgrace that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the most high over all the earth. So a community lament. And I believe our next hymn that we'll be singing after we pray is based on that psalm, Psalm 83.

Prayer concerns. Pastor Dewar is in the hospital. I don't, was he in last Sunday morning when we were here?

Was he yet?

He fell and he broke his hip and had surgery. A pin placed in his hip. And through most of the week he was suffering quite a bit. He has a terrible time with some of the anesthesia that they give him.

And so he was quite distressed and wasn't thinking clearly, wasn't speaking clearly. But yesterday he seemed to make quite a turnaround and was quite alert and doing quite well yesterday. And it seemed that a measure of his pain had dissipated.

So thank the Lord for that. Today is Al Harvey's 100th birthday. Wow, Ruth's older brother. And I'll be going over to a little family gathering after church today to help celebrate that. So God bless him.

I mentioned my pastor friends the other day at NERF. I said, our oldest member, he's turning 100 this week. He's been in our church for 100 years. They just rolled their eyes. I couldn't believe it. Other concerns?

Let's see. Ken and Darlene's daughter, Andrea, had her baby this week, all is well. And I think they're out there now, aren't they? They went out to Martha's Vineyard today. I think Ken's gonna leave Darlene there to care, help out for a couple of weeks.

Other concerns?

Yes.

Okay. Okay.

All right, Kim.

Okay. Yes.

Ray, who's in the hospital.

With a very serious case of flu. She's 82. And their friend's nephew has cancer in his leg and the doctors cannot help him. And apparently he's 40 years old. And our friend Ray is having double knee replacement.

Ooh, surgery. And so that's Ray. And then I heard from Warren this morning. He sent me a short email. He lives up in Newidge, which is one of his son-in-laws, 25 years old, has had two heart attacks in the last couple of days.

And he's in the hospital up in Dartmouth. And Warren didn't give me his name, but that's Warren Osulus, son-in-law. Any other concerns? Yeah, John first, please. Today?

Okay.

Oregon. That's a green time of year out there. Very, very nice out there at this time of year.

Okay.

And the Steelhead are going up the river there in Southern Oregon right now too. I can envision it well.

Yeah.

Bonnie?

Okay. Okay.

Yes.

Okay.

All right.

Any other concerns?

Yes, Judy.

Yeah, how's he doing?

Okay. Okay.

Will do.

Let's go to our father in prayer, please. Father, as we read over Psalm 83, in which your people express lament for the oppression they were experiencing, we're mindful, our God, that we're so wonderfully privileged and blessed to live in a land of freedom, of liberty, in which we can still live for Christ, live out our lives each day as Christians without being accosted, without being threatened, without great danger to us at this time.

And we're grateful for that. Yet we know we're somewhat of a minority in this world because your people elsewhere, Lord, in many places, they're suffering the same kinds of threats and dangers that are expressed in this Psalm.

And we pray for them. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever they may be gathering today throughout the world, that you would protect your people, Lord, deliver them from those that would do them harm, who would restrict them, Lord, or forbid them from living for you and worshiping you rightly.

And so we pray that the blessed Holy Spirit would just greatly bless them with your presence and with your power, and may the kingdom of Christ be advanced greatly, Lord, in those different contexts. We know, Lord, that although they have physical threat and physical danger, which is certainly threatening their physical existence, we too, Lord, have threats to our existence, our well-being as Christians, the onslaught of the world, Lord, our own flesh, and then the devil, of course, who's opposed to you and to your people.

We pray, our God, that you would help us, as the Apostle Paul expressed, to wage a mighty and a successful warfare against all and any, Lord, that would cause us or lead us away from the course that you have set us upon.

Help us, our God, enable us to do your will in our lives. We pray, our God, that you would use your word to remove from our thinking that which is errant, that which is deficient, and we pray, our God, that you would inculcate in our thinking into our very being, Lord, the truth of your holy word, that we might be governed by your word as a lamp unto our feet daily, Lord, leading us and guiding us in the course that you have set before us.

We pray, our God, that the Lord Jesus Christ would come soon and that we would see the full manifestation of your kingdom, Lord, when he returns, when that great day of judgment takes place, when all the world will be gathered before King Jesus and given account of themselves.

And we pray, Lord, that you would continue to help us as we seek to live for Christ and that our lives, Lord, may testify of a genuine, sincere, heart-born faith in Jesus Christ, that we would stand unashamed on that day, Lord, even as we stand in his righteousness that you've given to us so freely and fully through faith in him.

We pray for your people, Lord, those who are struggling, those who perhaps, Lord, have strayed from where they ought to be. We pray for their recovery. Help us as a church, Lord. Help us as individual Christians.

Help us, Lord, as elders, me as a pastor, Lord, to be able to speak and engage these people, showing the great concern we have for them and the great need they have to make things right with you. Restore, Lord, your people that have wavered.

Help each of us, our God, to walk in fullness of faith with lives, Lord, that testify of your goodness and kindness toward us. Help us, our God, to glorify Christ in and through our lives. We pray for your people, Lord.

We pray for your blessing upon Al and Peggy Harvey today on this, his 100th birthday, and bless the family, Lord, and friends that'll be gathering today to celebrate with him. Continue to help those, Lord, who are looking to you for encouragement, for wisdom, and strength.

We pray for Marie as she's making decisions for herself now. Continue, Lord, to give grace to Mary Dacus, we pray. Continue to help Margie in her ongoing treatments that oftentimes leaves her weak. Strengthen her.

Help Judy, Lord, with her MS condition. We pray, Lord, that this condition would be stabilized and even brought into remission. We pray for her brother, Tommy. Be merciful to him, Lord. He is a stranger to Christ, and apparently he has the sentence of death upon him for his physical condition.

And help Ron and Judy and their witness to Tommy. We pray, Lord, your blessing upon Andrea, Ken and Darlene's daughter, and their baby, her family. And help Ken and Darlene as they're out there seeking to encourage.

Give them joy, Lord, in the birth of this baby, and may it be a blessing to the family and to you and to your kingdom. We pray for those who are ill, Lord, for the Chans who are at home sick, for Connie Cappadona who has pneumonia.

May you clear up her lungs. We pray, our God, for Cindy's son and fiancee, that your blessing would be upon them and their life together. May it be centered in Christ. Continue to give grace and wisdom to Tim as he interacts with his son, Jake.

And may you stabilize him, Lord, Jake, and help him, Lord, be merciful to him. Give him new life in Christ. Protect those who are traveling, Lord, for John as he goes to Oregon. Watch over Bonnie as she's here.

And we do pray for Bonnie's niece, Heather, that you be merciful and help her as she deals with this thyroid cancer and help the physicians treat her rightly. Bring remission. We pray, Lord, for Janice's friend's father as he recovers from surgery.

We pray, Lord, that all of our difficulties, our weaknesses, our illnesses, would help to humble us and help us to see our need of the great physician, Jesus Christ, to minister to us, to encourage us, to strengthen us, to heal us.

We pray, our God, for John Goddard's sister, Linda. Help her and help John and his witness to Linda. Open her heart to attend the things of Jesus Christ. Give her understanding, give her faith. We pray for Danny and Lori's granddaughter, Emma.

Help the physicians to assess and diagnose the cause, Lord, of these seizures. Be merciful to her. Work, Lord, a powerful witness, Lord, through Emma to her parents as well. Thank you, God, that you're helping Pastor Dewar recover from his fall and help him, Lord, and those that are caring for him.

Help Hilda, Lord, who's been carrying him as she looks now to the future. Guide her and provide for her. May your grace be with each of us, our God, as we seek to walk with you. Again, we are in great need of your empowering grace to help us.

Put it within us, Lord, a fresh love for you, a love for your word, a desire for holiness, Lord, both in thinking and in behavior. And we pray, our God, that you would illuminate our mind to the truth of your holy word that is before us today.

Help us to take it to heart and do that great work of sanctification, purifying us, making us more like Christ through the instrument of your word. For we ask these things, Father, in Jesus' name, amen.

Psalm 83 Sung in Worship

Well, as I said, I believe the next hymn is based somewhat on Psalm 83 that we just completed reading.

And indeed it is. O God, do not keep silent. Be not quiet. O God, be not still. Please turn in your red hymnal to hymn 61. Stand on your feet. O God, no longer hold thy peace. No longer silent be. Thine enemies lift up their head to fight thy saints.

And thee.

Against thine own who thou dost love, their craft thy foes.

Employ.

They drink to cut thy people off. Thy church they would destroy. Thine ancient foes conspiring still with one consent agree. And they who with thy people's strife make war, O God, with thee. O God, who in our father's time did smite our foes and thine, so smile thine enemies today who in their pride.

Combine.

Make them like dust and stubble blown before the whirlwind.

Iron.

In their adren before the storm of thy consuming fire. Confound them in their tithing to seek for pardon. Fly till in dismay they trembling on that thou art God most high. And you may be seated. As we take up this morning's offering, please turn to the back of your bulletin and follow along with the words to the Lord is my shepherd.

Luke 4: The Temptation and Early Ministry of Jesus

Let's be seated please and turn in our Bibles to our New Testament reading. And today we'll consider Luke chapter four. And before us we have the beginning of our Lord's ministry. He first of course is tested in the wilderness by the devil.

And then he begins his ministry in his hometown of Nazareth. And those he grew up among rejected him. And so he went on to the region of Galilee, Capernaum.

By the.

Shores of Galilee and cast out demons and healed many people. So the onset of our Lord's earthly ministry. Luke chapter four. And Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days being tempted by the devil.

And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended he was hungry. The devil said to him if you are the Son of God command this stone to become bread. Jesus answered him it is written man shall not live by bread alone.

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and said to him to you I will give all this authority and their glory for it has been delivered to me and I give it to whom I will.

If you then will worship me it will all be yours. Jesus answered him it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him if you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here for it is written he will command his angels concerning you to guard you and on their hands they will bear you up unless you strike your foot against the stone.

And Jesus answered him it is said you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. And when the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to the power of the Spirit to Galilee and a report about him went out to all the surrounding country and he taught in their synagogues being glorified by all.

He came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as was his custom he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and he stood up to read and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He enrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor he has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him and he began to say to them today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

It all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth and they said is not this Joseph's son? And he said to them doubtless you will quote to me this proverb physician heal yourself what we have heard you did at Capernaum do here in your hometown as well and he said truly I say to you no prophet is acceptable in his hometown but in truth I tell you there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heavens were shut up three years and six months and a great famine came over all the land and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath in the land of Zidon to a woman who was a widow and there were many lepers in Israel in the times of the prophet Elijah and none of them was cleansed but only Naaman the Syrian when they heard these things all in the synagogue were filled with wrath and they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they could throw him down the cliff but passing through their midst he went away and he went down to Capernaum a city of Galilee and he was teaching them on the Sabbath and they were astonished at his teaching for his word possessed authority.

And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon and he cried out with a loud voice ha what have you to do with us Jesus of Nazareth. Have you come to destroy us. I know who you are the Holy One of God.

But Jesus rebuked him saying be silent and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst he came out of him having done him no harm and they were all amazed and said to one another what is this word.

For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out and the reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region and he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house.

Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever and they appealed to him on her behalf and he stood over her and rebuked the fever and it left her and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

Now when the sun was setting all those who had any who were sick and various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many crying you are the Son of God.

But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew he was the Christ. And when it was day he departed and went into a desolate place and the people sought him and came to him and would have kept him from leaving them.

But he said to them I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well for I was sent for this purpose and he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. Let's pray thank you our father for the glorious record that we have of our Savior our Lord Jesus as he went about doing good faithfully proclaiming your word to the people and wonderfully graciously delivering people from all that oppressed them.

And yet Lord we read of the reaction unreasonable hatred reaction to him. This certainly reflects the fact that we're sinners our God and we need a Savior such as the Lord Jesus who alone could save us from our sins.

We pray Lord that none of us would ever react or reject Jesus in this manner but help us Lord to be as his disciples ones who desire to learn from him who hang upon his words and seek to conform our lives to his word.

And with that in mind our Lord we open the scriptures before us here shortly may you accomplish your good work in Christ in us we pray in Jesus.

Name amen. And our next hymn in the red hymnal is hymn 9494. Do not fear for I am with you. Not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Please stand and let's rejoice in.

That Oh firm a foundation you say of the Lord give you aid I'll strengthen.