Sunday Morning Worship Service October 25, 2020

Psalm 50 and the Opening Worship Service

Services. Psalms chapter 50. In verses 1 and 2 it says Bible says the mighty God even the Lord Hath spoken and called the earth from the rising of the Sun unto the going down thereof Out of Zion the perfection of beauty God hath shined.

We're going to be singing number 383 close to thee.

Pilgrim journey. Savior let me walk with thee Close to thee Close to thee. Savior let me walk with thee. Your fame I pray shall be and suffer. Let me walk with thee Close to thee.

Father we do thank you O God for the opportunity to meet again to worship to praise. To sing these songs of praise unto you especially as we open our ears and our hearts. O God anticipation of the word of God that which you have left for us that would reveal yourself to us the knowledge of Christ that truly brings joy and happiness.

We ask your blessing upon this hour and this day as we worship you in Jesus name. We pray amen. Psalm reading. For today is Psalm reading. For the day is Psalms 37 and verses 34 through 40. Normally you would have the bulletin that you could follow along but if you have it in your Bibles otherwise let me read Psalms 37 34 through 40.

Wait on the Lord and keep his way and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off thou shalt see it. I have seen the wicked in great power and spreading himself like a green bay tree yet he passed away and lo he was not.

Yea I sought him but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man and behold the upright. For the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together. The end of the wicked shall be cut off.

But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. He is their strength in the time of trouble and the Lord shall help them and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in him.

May the Lord have the blessing. The reading of his word like to sing number 474. The name of this is constantly abiding.

Peace and that the world never gave a peace it cannot take. Those of life may surround like a cloud. I've a peace that has come there to stay. Constantly abiding constantly abiding Jesus is mine. Jesus is mine.

Constantly abiding constantly abiding constantly abiding rapture divine rapture divine he never leaves he never leaves me lonely whispers. Whispers of so kind I will never leave. Jesus is mine. Seems to sing of a savior and king.

When peace sweetly came to my troubles all flat and my night turned to day blessed Jesus how glorious thou art. Constantly abiding constantly abiding Jesus is mine. Jesus is mine. Constantly abiding constantly abiding rapture divine rapture divine he never leaves he never leaves me lonely whispers.

Whispers of so kind I will never leave a temple of faith. While here on his footstool I would. He's coming to take me some glorious day over there to my heavenly throne. Constantly abiding constantly abiding Jesus is mine.

Jesus is mine. Constantly abiding constantly abiding rapture divine rapture divine he never leaves me lonely whispers of so kind.

COVID Precautions and Church Announcements

Kind of a surprise to you we didn't really have that planned until we didn't have any of this planned as far as canceling the service. But this was a precaution and and we just wanted to be sure and for everybody's safety to cancel the evening service tonight have live streaming.

There won't be any live streaming of course tonight but live streaming this morning. Wednesday is canceled as well. We want to just make sure through a at least a 10 day 14 day period that there wouldn't be any possibility.

There was a there was a call it a not a sure thing but a possibility of some someone having COVID about 10 days ago here so we just wanted to be sure and that's the reason why I know you're wondering why that doesn't seem to be any problems but we're just going to be sure so thank you for your patience in that and but we do want to go through a few announcements do want to again.

The services for this week are canceled for Wednesday night also because of COVID. The Kemp's who were scheduled to be here in November have postponed it. We're going to reschedule. There's just a there's a an outbreak or a resurgence.

I guess you'd call of the COVID here in Illinois. Illinois is one of the 13 states I was told that has a rise of cases and it's in this area in fact the zone we're in zone 1 and it's one of the higher zones in Illinois.

There's been some cases not to instill any fear or anything like that because I think we know how to combat this with mitigation and so forth and hopefully a vaccine will be coming out. But in spite of that in fact they even closed down one of my jails.

I have 11 jails and the only two jails that were open for chaplains was my jail in Whiteside and LaSalle County Jail LaSalle County the chaplain there called me and told me that he's out now because the cases were up he's out and they closed that back down again.

It wasn't through him but there were some cases in the jail so far. Whiteside is still open but I wouldn't be surprised if I'd get a call from them. So keep praying about this and not so much of fear as it is trusting and doing what we can as a preventive measure as well and to protect ourselves and others.

Pray for Pastor and Chris as they've had some rest and they'll be back. They've left Florida. They're traveling back and visiting on the way back pray for their safety and travel also don't forget those we won't name individuals but as a church family you know those that are shut in and those that are in need for comfort and strength in our church members also those we do well and those that we normally pray for.

Missionaries of the week are the Slavodians and Sam and Amy. They are missionaries in Russia and Eastern Europe Ukraine. In their last letter they which was in August things haven't changed there but because of COVID they can't be traveling back and forth.

They've just about turned their ministry over to the nationals which are which they had anyway but now it's completely over to them. Normally in summer time they would be doing the camping programs camping and they would be overseas but they cannot even travel over there but but they do a lot of zooming and FaceTime and preaching from here over there and their folks over there.

The Russians and Ukrainians are doing very well and which is an encouragement to the Slavodians. And they're also involved excuse me in some church building programs. Three of them and the fourth is on the way so things are going well.

We need to pray for them and for their ministry as well. Otherwise I believe that's all that we need to mention. So let's pray for these things. Our father again we are grateful and thankful for your goodness to us.

Oh lord your mercies that are in Jesus Christ the forgiveness of sins the redemption through his blood that washes us whiter than snow. Father we thank you for the atonement that was made and paid for on the cross of Calvary oh god that truly makes us puts us into the family of God makes us sons of God through Christ help us.

Oh lord I pray this church those that that are in need of different needs of the members of the body pray for those that are that are not able to be here because of physical needs that you would meet those oh lord and give strength and comfort through the word of God and through our outreach to them as well.

Father we pray for our pastor and Chris as they travel and anticipate their coming soon again to be back with us. And we just thank you for the opportunity they can be encouraged and strengthened in the time away.

Father we pray also for for the missionaries that we support and particularly the Slavonians as their needs as they are separated from that place you've called them. And yet there is connection with the technical advances and live streaming and even preaching thousands of miles away encouraging others.

But we pray for those nationals that are left in charge that you would fill them with your spirit oh god. And the very word of God the knowledge of Christ through the word of God that truly brings joy peace and reaches out to others that are lost that men women families would be saved in joining the local church.

Father we just pray for your blessing upon us. We pray for our those in this church. We also pray for our country oh god. And the president and the decisions that he would make and and even within the days ahead the encouragement that we've seen in our country those things that we know are truly in your hands.

For your sovereign. You are our god in control of all things even the minds of men. Father and that you would set up kings and kingdoms that your will would be done. We know it will be done on earth as it is in heaven we anticipate the coming of our lord Jesus Christ maybe even today.

But if you tarry oh god use us embolden us that we might share Christ with others around us. And we ask these things in Jesus name amen before pastor Burnett comes and shares with us. Well actually we're going to sing it.

We're going to sing another hymn and then we'll have the scripture reading. But the next hymn we're going to sing is number 400. Take my life. John chapter 15. John chapter 15. John chapter 15 and verses 1 through 15.

And follow along. As I read John chapter 15 verses 1 through 15 Jesus said I am the true vine and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit he purges that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. No more can you accept. You abide in me.

I am the vine you are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. If a man abideth not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered.

And men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my father glorified that you bear much fruit.

So shall you be. My disciples as a father hath loved me so have I loved you. Continue you in my love if you abide in. If you keep my commandments you shall abide in my love even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love.

These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay his life down for his friends.

You are my friends. If you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth. But I have called you friends for all things that I have heard of my father I have made known unto you again.

May the lord have his blessing in the reading of your word. Pastor Burnett would you come. Well good morning to all of you. It is good for me to be here this morning enjoying the opportunity thankful for the opportunity of being here.

I did talk with pastor Bice earlier in the week and I believe that he and Chris seem to be quite refreshed and ready to be back and be ministering to you again. He told me about this situation and I'm glad to be able to step in today and to share with you what the lord has laid upon my heart out of God's word.

The Heart, the Word, and Wholehearted Devotion

I have chosen to take some verses from Psalm 119 this morning. The message will perhaps be more of a little bit of a devotional nature than at other times but I trust that it will minister to your heart.

And I want to ask you just a question today. How's your heart. Is your heart healthy. I want to talk to you this morning about your heart. No I'm not thinking of your heart in that literal or physical sense of the word but in a figurative way as the bible speaks of your heart it's found in scripture.

The word heart refers to our inner inward and innermost being. It's an interesting word. The word for heart meaning our innermost being is used in a variety of ways in the bible. In fact at times it almost seems that the uses are almost contradictory.

But I'm convinced that instead of being contradictory they are complementary. For instance on the one hand the bible says that we are to love the lord our god with all of our heart that was first given in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 6 and verse 5 and our lord repeats it in the new testament.

On the other hand the bible says our heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who could know it. Jeremiah tells us that in chapter 17 and verse 9 of his prophecy. So a question another question this morning is your heart that innermost being that you are.

Has it ever gotten you into trouble. Mine has probably too often. In fact that is why the writer of proverbs encourages us to keep the heart with all diligence. Proverbs 4 23. The word keep there means to guard or to protect.

The word diligence has the idea of careful persistent effort on our part to keep our heart with all diligence. Because the heart of man has this tendency a fallen man we have that heart. It's a fallen heart.

We were born this way in Christ by the way that heart is I believe renewed and we are being renewed in the image of him who created us. But because of that heart that Jeremiah describes as being deceitful and desperately wicked we must persistently protect our hearts from the tendencies of that heart.

Now how does a person go about keeping or guarding his heart. Sometime ago when I was reading through the book of Psalms I came to Psalm 119. And on a particular occasion of reading through that Psalm I noticed that there was a repetition of a particular phrase.

That phrase was with my whole heart. Just four words with my whole heart. That phrase caught my attention and so I decided to do a little bit of research. And as a result of my research I found this. That phrase occurs ten times in Scripture and eight of those occurrences are in the Psalms.

Six of them in fact are found in Psalm 119. Each of those occurrences of those verses those words with my whole heart are really worth pondering. In the Psalms which is poetry amongst the Hebrews their poetry often times was done in the form of parallel statements.

Sometimes those parallel statements say the same thing. Sometimes they're saying opposite things or contradictory things. I'm going to look at those verses this morning and we're going to concentrate on the words that are in contrast to the words with all my heart and I trust that it will minister to us.

And we want to pick up about six different thoughts about what we should do with our heart and what we should concentrate our heart upon. So number one. We should seek the Lord with our whole heart it says in Psalm 119.

And verse 2. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies. And that seek him with the whole heart. First of all it is a better way that is described here. What better way to look for something than to look for something whole heartedly.

Look at verse 10 of Psalm 119. It says. With my whole heart have I sought thee. Oh let me not wander from thy commandments. When we seek something whole heartedly that is with all of our being rather than half heartedly we are far more certain of finding that thing for which we are seeking.

If we are not at all serious about searching for something we probably will give it only a brief glance and look no farther than on the surface. And that reminds me of something that I am often times guilty of.

My wife may say to me would you give me such and such a thing out of the utility drawer in the kitchen. I will say sure I'll get it for you. I go over to the utility drawer. I open it up and I just kind of glance at it in the surface and don't move anything around.

And I'll say I can't find it. It's not there. Well at that particular moment she just kind of like walks over goes to the drawer and she picks out the tool she wanted right there. I she had dug around a bit.

I only looked upon the surface. You know as God knows our hearts perfectly we must understand all of the moods of seeking him other than with our whole heart our vein. They're in vain. They're fruitless.

It is impossible for us to fool God with appearances sincerely. Seeking the Lord with all our heart is the far better way of doing things. It yields better benefits. You see the psalmist indicates that the benefit of seeking the Lord with all of our heart is to keep our heart from wandering as mentioned in verse 10.

These are the words of a heart conscious of his tendency to be distracted and wander away. You might remember that the bible describes us believers as as being sheep. And sheep are notorious for wandering.

The hymn writer expressed it well in these words. O to grace. How great a debtor. Daily I'm constrained to be let thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander Lord. I feel it prone to leave the God I love.

Here's my heart O take and seal it seal it for thy courts above. Such apprehensions are actually a great source of security to us because it leads us to pray. And the man who prays is one who was learning to lean upon the Lord for his success in life.

If a man is aware of his dependence upon the Lord and prays over it that is the man who finds himself safe and secure. So that's the first thing we should seek the Lord with all of our heart. The second thing is this.

We should observe the word with a whole heart. Observe the word with a whole heart. Psalm 119 and verse 34 it says this give me understanding and I shall keep thy law. Yea I shall observe it with my whole.

Heart so with a view to.

Committing himself to obey the law wholeheartedly the psalmist asks the Lord to help me understand that you know if I'm given an instruction and I don't understand that instruction that's given to me I'll really not know what I am supposed to do.

An instruction needs to be made clear clear to us before we can be expected to wholeheartedly follow the instruction fulfill it. So to the end of obeying holy obeying the Lord the psalmist asks God to enable him to understand the meaning of the word.

What are you saying to me. What is the meaning. It's like give it to me in clear plain language. When he says give me understanding he's not talking about knowledge in a wise sense of the word worldly things but rather he's asking God to give him insight into the things of God.

So the psalmist prays give me understanding give me understanding of your ways and your things that I might walk in them. Our goal his aim his purpose it is that the word of God might be our sole guide for our lives lead us in the right path.

He wants us to have an affection for God that is undivided. The more carefully we search God's word and hide his word in our heart the more faithfully we can keep it the more faithfully the Holy Spirit can bring it to our attention just at the right moment when we need that word.

So we should seek to to obey to obey the word of God to keep the word of God. There's a third thing I would share with you this morning that is it we should seek God's favor with all of our heart. Psalm 119 and verse 58 the psalmist says.

I am treated thy favor with my whole heart. Be merciful unto me according to thy word. So he seeks God's favor with his whole heart. And I want us to understand that this has nothing to do here with our salvation.

This is a man of God who wants to walk with God and he is seeking God's blessing in his life. You see salvation comes to us by the grace of God which is his unmerited favor. God's grace was to give us a savior.

The Lord Jesus sent him into the world to go to a cross where he would take upon himself the guilt of our sin and then pay his penalty in full. But the psalmist here has something else in mind other than his salvation.

His concern is that in the life that he lives that he will live his life in a manner pleasing to the Lord. The apostle Paul speaks of that in the book of 1st Thessalonians and chapter 4. When he says this to us 1st Thessalonians 4 and verse 1 he says furthermore then we beseech you brethren and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received us of us how you ought to walk and to please God so you would abound should abound more and more.

Our desire as a believer is to please the Lord. When I think of that I think of a child. I think of a little child who often times might seek to please his parent. What comes to my mind is just this vivid picture I have when my children were very small.

I remember my oldest son who was just a tyke at the moment at the time I was standing at the top of the stairs of our home and it was a split level home and I was at the top of the stairs and he was on the main level and so I just said to him John I need my bible.

Would you bring my bible to me. And this little guy probably 4 years old at the time turned around got my bible and he came over. He came up the steps and as I came down the steps and he handed it to me and when he handed it to me I said thank you John and this great big old smile just broke out on his face.

Children often times like to please their parents. They take great pleasure in that it's an encouragement to them. Well our desire as a believer is that in our walk our behavior our talk that we too might please him and that's what Paul exhorts us to in 1st Thessalonians 4 .1 to walk in a manner that pleases him.

That is what the psalmist is talking about as he seeks the favor of God with my whole heart. No sooner has the psalmist sought the favor of God than that he also pleads for the Lord to be merciful to him.

Why? Because perhaps it is because he knows the heart that the heart is prone to wander from pleasing God to pleasing itself but for the mercy of God what would we be? Think of these verses found in the book of Psalms Psalm 145 and verses 8 and 9 and how often God talks to us about mercy.

By the way I see mercy as grace as God giving us what we do not deserve but I find mercy as God not giving us what we truly do deserve. He withholds it and in Psalm 145 and verses 8 and 9 he says the Lord is gracious, there's grace and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy.

The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works so we seek the favor of God we seek with all of our heart to please him. We want our walk to please him we want all that we do to please him.

That brings us to another statement that the psalmist writes in verse 69. In verse 69 he says to us the proud have forged a lie against me. Well that sounds pretty ominous but here's what the psalmist says but even though they forge a lie against me I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.

Who are the proud here in this passage of scripture? The proud are those who hold a high station in life or are people who have made a name for themselves and in this particular case have made false accusations against a.

Godly person. The word.

Forged. By the way the world system have you noticed in recent years the world system is finding more and more fault with our faith. Our faith to us is precious. We read God's word and we automatically know this is God's word.

It's self-authenticating to us. We rejoice in it. We rejoice in his promises and all of the things that he gives to us, the instruction he gives to us. The truths that are shared there about God and his grace and his mercy and his salvation.

But the world system tends to make fun of our faith. The world system, those of the world system have said things that are simply not true of our faith or even of the believer. It is interesting here as I look at verse 69 again that it says the proud have forged a lie.

The word forged is a very interesting thing. It is a word that means to patch together. As if to say that the charges that the ungodly makes towards the godly man are like shreds of cloth that are put together in a fashion so as to make the accusations somehow seem plausible.

How do we react when the world system is critical of our faith? There are those by the way who have said recently that Christianity is dangerous. You and I know that to be untrue. We know that it is the gospel that has changed us and made us who we are becoming.

When others accuse us of being stiff and stodgy old fundamentalist let's just allow the great grace, mercy, and compassion of our lord to be seen in our lives and enable us to live our lives in a blameless manner.

The proud have forged a lie against me but I, for me I will keep thy precepts with all of my heart. That's my heart's desire. Well, there's another verse to look at. And that's in 145. Just over a couple of pages here.

And it says in that verse, I cried with my whole heart hear me oh lord I will keep thy statutes. And by the way verse 69 I don't think I gave you the outline for it but I put down we should seek to live our lives with our whole heart.

In verse 145 we should cry out to the lord with our whole heart. In verse 145 I cried with my whole heart hear me oh lord I will keep thy statutes. I don't know about you but sometimes my heart gives me trouble.

And sometimes I have found as I in my walk with the lord that sometimes there are things that are hard to change. And there might even be some things that are sometimes hard to give up. Have you ever found it that way?

In your walk with the lord? When you find that there are things that are just hanging on from the old life. Cry out to the lord for his help, for his mercy, his grace. Because the heart is desperately wicked there are some things that we can all too easily grab on to in the world that we know are wrong but have difficulty in giving up.

At such times we find ourselves helpless. We must cry out to the lord in sheer desperation. Lord.

Change my heart make it ever true. The way to cry out to the lord with a whole heart is to immerse ourselves.

In his word and to pray earnestly. I just can't help but think this morning as I listen and think of those words that the psalmist cried out with his whole heart. Last Sunday evening when we left here we got down around Camp Grove and as I turned to exit that little community on Highway 40 I must have been distracted, I must not have been paying close attention or whatever and so the right hand side of my car fell off the road.

Just fell off the pavement. Well I endeavored to bring it back and as I brought it back, bang! Just like that. It's like something hit our car. And as I drove down the road all of a sudden I heard rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble and that meant I had a flat tire.

You know we stopped and pulled off the side of the road and I have a place where I store my golf clubs and it's the trunk of my car. I also store a golf cart there, a push cart. So I got the clubs out and put them beside and laid them back here and I got the cart out and laid it back here.

I opened up the trunk lid, the lid there and I got the little donut out that you put on for a spare tire. I got the jack out and I kept looking and looking and looking and you know there's a little crank that goes with that jack.

I'm sure you've seen it if you've had a flat tire. I've never had a flat tire with this car before so I wasn't familiar with it. And I couldn't find the crank. All I could find was this little screw type thing and I thought that's not going to do it.

And so I'm there and I'm thinking what do we do? Vicki's got her phone out and she's got the light on her phone shining here so I can see what I'm attempting to do but can't get done. And so at that particular moment Vicki cries out, she did, she cried out, Lord we need help.

Do you know what happened? Immediately as she prayed that a car pulled up and stopped and said do you need help? And we said by all means yes. Now I'm not a person who often times says I need help. You know I was one of these guys that I do it myself, it's okay.

I hate to ask people to do things for me. And Vicki was so glad that I said yes, we need help. These guys pulled their car around shining their lights on our car and another guy stopped who they knew and they started looking around and they finally found the crank and in five minutes that tire was changed and we were back on the road.

By the way these were three guys from a church just about a quarter of a mile away where they just had a gospel sing and they were on their way home. I know they weren't angels but they were angelic to us that night.

So we got back on the road. When you find yourself in trouble, when you find your heart struggling with sin, when you find there's some difficulty in your life, as the psalmist says cry out to the Lord with your whole heart because he hears.

We can cast all of our care upon him because he cares.

For us. That.

Brings me to another verse of scripture. This time it's not found in psalm 119. It is found in the psalms however in psalm 138 and verse 1. It says I will praise thee with my whole heart before the gods will I sing unto thee.

If God is worthy to be praised and he is, then he is worthy to be praised with all of our heart. I go back several pages to the beginning of the book of Psalms in Psalm 9 and verse 1. In verse 1 it says I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart.

I will show forth all thy marvelous works. And I go forward to Psalm 111 and verse 1 in Psalm 111. And there it says something similar. Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

So this sixth verse shares with us this thought that we should be careful to praise the Lord with our whole heart. Why? Well number one because of who he is. He is the eternal God eternal in the heavens.

He is without beginning, he is without.

Ending. And when he.

Spoke, he created this earth. And he made you. And he gave to us, sinners that we are, his own son to be our savior. He gave his son to walk a path that led him to Calvary where he took all of our sin upon himself and paid the penalty in full.

He has done good things for us. How has God changed you? How has he changed your life? I don't have time to tell you this morning the wonderful thing that God did for me when he saved me. He just changed my life.

And I'm sure he changed your life as well. He is worthy to be praised for who he is and for what he does.

What he has done for all of his works. We sang some hymns this morning and I. I like to sing. I maybe, but here's a problem. I like music.

So much that as I sing I'm often times more concerned about the melody than I am about the words. Have you ever found yourself singing a great hymn and you get to the end of it and you just kind of ask yourself what have I just sung?

And that sometimes we end up just singing words. Well Paul speaks to us about singing with the understanding. You know singing with knowledge. And so when we sing I would encourage us and I have to encourage myself to do this too to pay close attention to the words that are there.

It is so easy for the words just to let the words slip out of our mouths. Without thought of what they mean. We must always be sure that our singing is with understanding so the meaning of what we sing lingers in our minds and instructs us in God's ways.

How encouraging it is when the Lord's people lift their voices with one heart in praise that lifts the roof off the building and reaches the heights of heaven. So remember these things this morning. God asks for nothing less than your whole heart.