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God's New Year Promise By Paul Thompson

Title of their message this evening is God's New Year promise God's New Year promise And we're looking at this passage in Malachi 6 through 14 and our text is going to be verse 11 verse 11 Will be our text this evening Now someone has said that preaching the gospel is one bigger showing another bigger we're to find bread What we are attempting tonight reminds me of the Syrophoenician woman he said to Jesus the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs And we could say tonight we're those Gentile dogs We're that beggar tonight May God the Holy Spirit be pleased to give us some crumbs from his table
May he the bread of life
And break it for us this evening and may he give us a few crumbs
Let's pray before we come to our message this evening
Our God and our Father
We again acknowledge that you are completely and utterly sovereign
We gain
Acknowledge that apart from you we can do nothing
Unless we abide in you we cannot bring forth any fruit
Father we plead with you that you might speak through your word
We do not desire to hear from a man
But from God the Holy Spirit
So father have mercy on us
Give us some crumbs from your table
That we will go away fed
we will go away encouraged and
Lord we pray for those who do not know you should have pleased you to open their eyes
To give them hearts of flesh
Instead of hearts of stone
Lord have mercy upon us and speak to us through your word. We pray in Jesus name. Amen
Now Peter McMurray is not here tonight
I was going to get Peter to actually help me tonight not actually come up the front here
But we're going to go on an exciting
journey together
And basically what Peter and I are going to do we're going to go up
we're going to go tonight on a special flight and
If you can imagine now in your mind's eye, this is a brand new jumbo. It's been through all the testing
It hasn't had any work or anything at all. And this is the this is the maiden flight
There's something very special about this jumbo. This is the Lord's jumbo
the color is
metallic the color is metallic silver, it's a beautiful silver color and
the name written on the side
We went back home once and I think we went on the city of Lake Macquarie
But this jumbo is called Zion city of God
and of course who owns this jumbo, but it's the Lord's jumbo and
It's packed full of 12,000 Bibles
For every inhabitant man woman and child in Alamo Vail, so we're going to go on an imaginary journey in
This beautiful jumbo the Lord's jumbo. We're going to go on a mission
to a tiny corner of the Lord's vineyard in
Alamo Vail a small suburb in the coastal city of New South Wales
And we're carrying a very important promise
For the laborers in that
harvest field
But before we can convey the promise we need to go
through
Some routine or housekeeping matters now you can just imagine we're sitting Peters here next to me. I've got a
Keep remembering to say Peters not here tonight so you can listen to the tape maybe Peters sitting next to me
We've got the onboard computer
We've got this massive lights and buttons and all sorts of wonderful technology
And we so we've got to go through the pre-flight maneuvers. We've got a bit of housekeeping to do
So our first point is we need to read the ship's log now. It's a plane
But in aviation terms planes big jumbo commercial jet are called ship
So
We want to read the ship's log to see where we've actually come from
We're going to look at our text in a minute, and then we're going to need to consult the ship's
flight plan to see where we're going tonight and
Of course our book of instructions will be God's Word
Now those of you who weren't here last night here last week
And John put this Old Testament book into its setting and he told us that Malachi the name
Malachi means messenger and that this book was written between
450 and
425 BC at the time of Nehemiah and
Ezra now this was following the exile from Babylon of
the Old Testament Church the temple had been rebuilt and
the sacrifices had been
reinstituted so this is this is where we have come from and
Now we want to consult the ship's flight plan to see where we're actually going tonight
And we want to go through these
Preliminary things first of all we want to explain and briefly the position and the importance of the verse
now
Notice here that this verse and our text verse 11
For from the rising of the Sun even to the going down
My name shall be great among the Gentiles in every place
The ancient shall be offered to my name and a pure offering for my name shall be great among the nations
There's the Lord now this verse obviously is completely different from all the other verses
They seem to be negative don't they and the people the Prophet is
Telling off he's bringing a condemnation upon God's people and God's priests
But we notice something also about the position and the importance of this verse
We see that this is a promise. It's a precious jewel
That is sitting in the midst of a lot of uncut flawed stones and
Malachi the Prophet
he looks past the time in which he is and he looks as that we're over the horizon and
He sees past the Old Testament shadows and the Old Testament type and he sees this great
blessing for the New Testament Church
This great promise my name shall be great among the Gentiles
And we can say tonight that God's name is them is great among the Gentiles because we
Are sitting here and all the other churches that God has been pleased to establish
Now we want to continue we need to explain the importance of the promises having seen the importance and the
position of the verse in
to
Corinthians 120
We read for all the promises of God in him are yes and in him
Amen to the glory of God through us
So all God's promises
Point to the salvation that has been accomplished in Christ
Christ is the sum and the substance of all God's promises and we want to have a look at this exciting
Promise tonight God's New Year promise and I trust that we will be greatly encouraged by and then we read and one Kings
856
Blessed be the Lord who gave rest to his people Israel
According to all that he has promised there has failed
Not one of all his good promises which he promised through his servant Moses and we could add through this prophet
tonight
Now one of the old Puritans has said the being of God may as well fail as
The promises of God and what a helpful statement that is
now we've still got just a little bit more detail to do as we're going through our
flight plan
Before we get our clearance to take off
Now we want to explain the purpose of the verse
So
Very difficult because we're going back into the Old Testament aren't we and when you covenant when you covenant Christians
we're used to living in the New Testament an
Anglican pastor Graham Goldsworthy has provided a helpful key to unlocking the purpose to which the Holy Spirit
Has given the Old Testament passage or verse. Let's see what he says
He says the Old Testament is God's word about Christ you remember that marvelous
account of Jesus in Luke 24 on the road to Emmaus with the two disciples and we read that Christ
Expounded and open up the scriptures concerning himself all the prophecies
Concerning himself and it would seem from the original that he went through literally every promise and explained himself to it
Now Graham Goldsworthy goes on to say enter the Old Testament through the gospel
With the knowledge that the Old Testament is about Christ
we follow the
Unfolding of the revealing of Christ. It's like a beautiful flower or one of these
Great raises that you see in these show gardens and they're closed up and then gradually they open and this is what he's saying here
Concerning Christ, so we follow the unfolding of the revelation of Christ until it is fulfilled in the gospel
Now it's a tall order. We're going to seek to attempt to do something of that
This evening with God's help what then applying the simple key is the purpose of the passage
Which we're seeking to open up tonight
Well, I trust it from this passage as we've read it. We will see that God through this prophet is
Bringing a guilty verdict
concerning the false
hypocrisy
Sorry, apocryphal
Say that again hypocritical worship of his ministers and his people
Now, let me suggest that the Holy Spirit's
Let me suggest the Holy Spirit's purpose in this text
This 11 you cast your eyes on it
Down onto it and I would suggest that it's to convince us or to persuade us to believe
That God will have a people who will worship him so we can take that right forward
2400 years
to the 9th of January
1994 to us here today my god
Ah
Help to apply this to our hearts and minds and to believe it now before we can take off
You remember the scene?
We're on the flight deck
We're going we've opened the Lord's Word
We see here a glaring warning
God says I'm warning you now. This is our first hitting our first major hitting if you know if you're
Taking notes and what I was going to say to Peter with the first heading is stop stop
Now if we read the passage from 6 through 14, which we've done
We see here that this is the commentary surely, isn't it on the church today?
the corrupt
apostate false worship of the professing church
But
Then we can also say that this is a commentary on the church path
It's even on a church a commentary on the church path
sadly churches who once preached the gospel and
evangelized like a like us but now all over this land and in Britain and other countries a
supermarket
took runs
You name them whatever now we bear the exception without
At property, of course, but
There's one property in
in
In Newcastle, that's the scout hall. There's another one that's owned by real estate agent
There's another one. That's the theater
And I believe the one that is a theater in the center of Newcastle an old Methodist Chapel
The gospel would have been preached basically there for many years
Okay
So it's a warning to us to as a church, isn't it? It's a sober warning. We need this warnings before
We begin on this
Great journey and mission and we remind ourselves of the words from Revelation chapter 2 and verse 5
Remember therefore from where you have fallen
Repent and do the first works or else I will come quickly and remove your lampstand from its place
Unless you repent so here is a sober warning that God is giving us tonight
and
We could ask the question what went so wrong
God had led his people out of
And exile out of Babylon the temple had been rebuilt
The law of God had been found
Turn to Ezra chapter 3 in verse 12
Ezra chapter 3 and verse 12
And we read here that many of the priests and the Levites and the heads of the father's houses
Who were all mean who had seen the first temple?
Wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes yet many shouted with joy
So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people
For the people shouted with a loud shout and the sound was heard afar off
Then if you turn over to Nehemiah 8 8 that's the next book
We see here now what was going on was that the
The
Law of God had been rediscovered and we read here in 7 that
The people were helped to understand the law the people stood in the place
So they read distinctly from the book of the law of God and gave the sins and helped them to understand
So we see here
This is a great period of revival in the life of the Old Testament Church and yet within a few years
Malachi comes on the scene as the prophet and at the beginning of his
Ministry here. We see that he brings this warning and this condemnation to the priests and to God's people
Now under our first subheading God says I'm warning you or stop
We have this subheading
God says I'm warning you because gospel worship can be abandoned
Now, let's have a look at
verse 7
Where he sees you offer defiled food on my altar, but you say in what way have we defiled you?
By saying the table of the Lord is contemptible
Now we need to just preface our marks by saying that although we are speaking to although
The Prophet is speaking to Old Testament
Priests here the New Testament says that those of us who are believers are priests aren't we we're priests unto God
So here we see that gospel worship can be
Abandoned at the Lord's table and this is verse 7 and we read and we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 11
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
will be guilty of the body and the blood of Christ, but let a man examine himself and
So let him eat of the bread and of the cup for he who drinks
For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself
Not discerning the Lord's body
so
We need to apply that and we can apply that to ourselves
We're not here talking about the literal body of the Lord at the Lord's Supper, but we're talking about a remembrance
And God says doesn't he he says if you're a believer
Come and worship me at the Lord's
Table come and do this in remembrance of me
But we might be tempted to
Say the words of these of this hymn Lord. I'm not fit to come
Let not the conscience make you linger
nor of fitness fondly dream
All the fitness you require is to feel your need of him
so that's an
Encouragement concerning coming to the Lord's table as we are
Seeking his forgiveness in his cleansing now, let's have a look at verse 8 and verse 13
Verse 8 and when you offer the blind as a sacrifice
Is it not evil and when you offer the lame and the sick?
Is it not evil offer to it then to offer it then to your governor?
Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably says the Lord of hosts?
Now
Here we see the gospel worship can be lost because we come unprepared
We come with evil if you like on our hands or in our hearts
We come lame sick
torn weary
Rather than confess our sins before the Lord rather than get right with him if we are believers
we come in an unprepared and an unfit state and
This reminds us of
Mark
Jesus story in in mark 14
Where he says to the disciples
He says
Simon are you sleeping?
Could you not watch with me?
Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation the Spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak
Again he went away and prayed and spoke the words and when he returned he found them sleeping again
For their eyes were heavy and they did not want to answer him and they did not know what to answer him
Then he came the third time and he said to them. Are you still sleeping and
Resting and we could say that tonight couldn't we I could apply that to myself
And
The Lord would apply it to you. Could you not watch with me one hour for Christ?
He says in his word he who honors me I will honor
Well, then secondly under our sub point here God says I'm warning you
Not only because of the gospel worship can be abandoned but because of the constant danger of hypocrisy
Saying
one thing and doing another or
Being something other than that we
profess to be
Look then at verse 10 and verse 14
Who there even?
Who is there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire on my ultimate vein?
I have no pleasure in you says the Lord nor will I accept an offering from your hands and
then also
in verse 14 he says
Big be cursed but cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male and makes the vow
But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished for I am a great king. There's the Lord of hosts
So we see here
Even though we may have the best
We end up giving God the worst we may play out play act. We may be deceived
Deceived in our present state and we need to apply this to ourselves if we're acting
Hypocratically as Christians tonight. We need to come and confess our sin and ask for forgiveness and
Then as we notice in verse
14 there for I am a great king says the Lord of hosts
If we would only consider who it is that we who it is with whom we have to do the Lord of hosts
Okay, well that's our first major point in our sub point our second
Our
Second major point is this and this is the encouragement and the major lesson for us this evening
God says believe my promise. I am saving my people
Or Peter go
We're all ready for takeoff
He's beautiful new engines the big fans are whizzing around
Got the clearance from the tower and we can proceed
Down the runway and take off on our great mission
Now I should say that this second hitting here. God says believe my promise
I'm saving my people it's
Implied in the text. It's hidden. It's foundational
Peter when I rent around your place last week
To lend a book to your dad. I couldn't see the foundations of your house
But they were there otherwise the house
Wouldn't be standing
So my first heading is implied in the text and I trust that I will be able to prove that to you
So what we're going to do now Peter we've taken off
We're cruising at about 500 knots
We're at about 50,000 feet
we can
Just relax we put the plane on automatic pilot and it's a glorious or we're up so high
It's at night. We can see that stars twinkling and
We've just got the lights on the console
Main lights are out and we can just sit back and relax as we're heading
towards Ella more veil in New South Wales
and as we sit and as we chat
It's the co-pilot on the mission. I
Feel that it's a good idea to share what God has for these people in Ella more veil
so I
Open up our instruction manual the Word of God
Book of Malachi
And I'll begin to share with him
Something of the message that I believe the Lord has for us from this 11
Now
God says to his people that if we want to worship him
We must honor him. We must respect him
We must have a holy fear for him
He says too that he has a
people a
people even
from unborn generations
now
It's also important that we notice this fact
Because this verse is so different from all the other verses. It shows us something very important
And basically it it teaches us this simple lesson
God says through the Prophet to his people you won't worship me properly. I
Will get the worship that I deserve and that I respect and that is due to my honor and I will get it through
The Gentiles and I am going to save the Gentile and they will make my name great
through the worship of me and
That's where the promise comes down to us today
So
We need to consider first of all under our
Second point and our first sub point God says believe my promise
I'm saving a people because of the message of Christ
So we're going
to encourage
Our friends at Allamore Vale and we're going to
Remind them of the message of Christ as they labor in that harvest field in this new year
and the first thing we want to say concerning this message of Christ that we're going to encourage them with and
that I believe is
Foundational in the first part of this text here now
I should say that we're dealing with the first part my name shall be great among the Gentiles
and we need to
Just make a quick comment for from the rising of the Sun even to the going down of the same. What does that mean? Well
From what I can figure out it means as long as the Sun
Rises in the east and sets in the West my name will be great among the Gentiles
Now
This message of Christ this gospel
I'm saving my people because of the message of Christ now the gospel firstly is for a
Stony hearted sinner like you and like me
Let's look at Ephesians
chapter 2 and verse 12
I think of
Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 12 it says remember that you once Gentiles
That at the time you were without Christ being alien strangers without having any hope
having no hope and without God in the world and
Maybe you're without Christ tonight
Maybe you're an alien and a stranger you have no hope
Well, my God the Holy Spirit be pleased to make you his friend
May you leave here with Christ and having hope this evening
And then we also need to notice here that the gospel is for a Stony hearted sinner like you and I will take the Stony
Heart out of their flesh and give and give them a heart of flesh
God is able to take our stony hearts and give us the heart of flesh by nature being sons of Adam
We have a stony hard heart, but God is able to give us a heart of flesh and write his law
upon our hearts
Now secondly we want to say that God says believe my promise that I'm saving
Sorry, God says that he's saving a people
Because of the message of the gospel and the gospel is secondly here
the gospel is
God in Christ
Choosing someone like you and me the gospel is God in Christ
choosing someone like you and me
Now if we were to have a look at 1 Samuel
1740 and I'll just read it to you. You don't need to turn to it if you don't want to it's talking about Jake
David here as he prepares to fight Goliath and it says he chose for himself five
Smooth stones from the book from the brook and put them in his shepherds bag now
This is the same idea
concerning election
Just as David chose those five smooth stones from the brook
so the Lord has chosen a people for himself and we need to be
Encouraged by that and we need to preach that because that's a part of the gospel the God
That the gospel is God in Christ
Choosing someone like you or like me and we're told in Ephesians 1 4 and it was mentioned this morning
that he God
Chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be without blame before him in love
And on Wednesday night, we read that marvelous text
You shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins
so this is going to be one of the
Things that there are friends at Elmore Vale are going to be told that there's a people out there
God's people as they go and as they labor in the harvest field in
1994
now also
this message of Christ this gospel is
It's a gospel that Christ is dying for someone like you
Christ is dying for someone like you now Christ died 2,000 years ago
But Christ's sacrifice is still applicable to you and me
It's still
It's it's still if you like
I won't say that but it's still able to wash us and
Cleanse us from sin, even though it happened a long time ago
now we read in John 10 and
11
John
10 and 11
I am the Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep
and if we turn over to
Isaiah 53 you might like to turn to that
Isaiah
53 we can
Read from verse 4 to verse 6
If you are not a Christian tonight, I challenge you to read this these verses with me now and insert your own name
Surely
he has borne my griefs and
Carried my sorrows
Yet I esteemed him stricken
Smitten by God and afflicted
Because he was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities or my sins
That chastisement for my peace was upon him and by his stripes. I was healed. I
Like a sheep have gone astray I have turned my own way
But the Lord has laid on me laid on him
The iniquity or my iniquity or the iniquity of us all
Now the gospel is not only Christ dying for someone like you but the gospel is Christ
summons in someone like you
I've had a couple of
Frights this week with these speed cameras
and
Not watching the speedo and then all of a sudden there's this little camera on the side of the road
The last time it was pointing the other way, but my mother remarked that they go
Forward and backwards now whether that's true here or just in New Zealand. I don't know
But when I looked at the speedo and then I looked at the camera
I
Was wondering where they in a few weeks time it's going to be a little something
in the
post
And if I don't pay that fine
Over a period of time. There's a thing called a summons come and this is exactly
What God sees in his gospel when he calls his people he summonses you and me
Now a member of our family and I won't name who it is
The way he got round the summons
was that he ended up spending a few nights in the
local lockup
at Newcastle
because fair enough he didn't have the money so he had to
Go forward and receive his due punishment
Now what we're saying here is that the gospel is Christ's summonsing someone like you and like me
through the call to repentance and faith
Look at John
644 I'll read it to you. No one can come to me unless the father draws him and
Then in John 10 and verse 3 to him the door keeps open and the sheep hears voice
And he calls his own sheep by name if you're not a Christian tonight as
The gospel is being preached this very second
God calls you by name and you will hear his call if he is calling you and
You will come to the Lord Jesus Christ
You will repent of your sins will change the course of your life
You will believe you will trust you will cling to the Lord Jesus Christ
Who is the only one who can save you from the judgment that is due to your sins and from hell?
Which you will surely?
experience for eternity
Unless you know the Lord
Now finally then the encouragement that we've got in this message to our friends at Ella more veil
Is that the gospel is is Christ
Keeping someone like you it's not only Christ summonsing someone like you
But it's Christ keeping someone like you and if we look at John 6 35 and 37 these well-known
Verses we read he who comes to me shall never hunger and he who believes in me
Shall never thirst all that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me
I will never I will never cast out
so in other words
we can never
lose our salvation and I know
the story that
Amanda tells that when she learned this truth what a comfort it was to her heart because as the young Christian
She was petrified that she might lose her salvation
But when she was shown from God's Word what a comfort it was to her heart
Well, we want to move now to our
second
subpoint under this
Second heading here. God says believe my promise. I'm saving my people
Because of the message of Christ and then secondly and quickly because of the method of Christ
We don't just want the message of Christ the gospel but we want his method and of course
The example of Christ he is the master
Evangelist he is the master Christian worker
And what better example than to follow our Lord and if we look at Luke?
1910 we see for the Son of Man came to seek and to say that which is lost and
That's what you and I are going to be doing and what we're
Seeking to encourage our friends as we go on this mission is to seek the lost
We can't save them. Of course only the Lord can do that, but we're to go out and we're to seek the lost and
then you remember the
parable in Luke 15
verse 4 to 6 of the lost sheep and
And Christ says
having a hundred sheep if he loses one of them does he not leave the 99 in the wilderness and
Go after the one that is lost until he finds it and when he finds it he lays it on his shoulders
Rejoicing like we heard this morning and saying to his friends and neighbors
Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep
Which is lost and
Isn't this what we're to go to leave the 99 and to seek after that lost sheep
And as we go the Lord goes with us as we go with his message
The sheep are found even one we heard about tonight a lost sheep found. What an encouragement
so
we want to
see
Then that Christ is our example
and we've got a little sub sub heading if you like under our
Heading here because of the message of Christ and we've got three points here
the ministry of walking
the ministry of talking and
the ministry of serving
Now we're following the example of Christ
Christ walked to people and he walked with people
and
this numerous
examples of this
We've just read Luke
15
verse 4 to 6 look at Luke 14 21 and 22
and another parable Jesus says go into the streets and and lanes of the city and
Bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind
Go out into the highways into the hedges and
compel them to come in that my house may be filled and
Isn't this what we desire and isn't this the message of encouragement that we're taking on our mission that this house for the Lord's house
May be filled. I
Was heard of a church in Grand Rapids last year and
the church bought a
Mormon church
and what it was was they had the main chapel and then they had the
Auditorium the gym on the back and they had these curtains that they could move and they were slowly moving the curtains back
each week as
the numbers increased and increased and
God was wonderfully blessing the ministry of his word
there and
This is what we desire to
now
We see here that we have a
ministry of walking
That we're to walk that we're to go to people we see in mark 16 15
Go into all the world and to preach the gospel
to every creature
But then we see here under the method of Christ that there is a ministry of talking or a ministry of the word and
of course
These verses are so helpful and so encouraging to us to go or in the original
It says having therefore gone
Make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit
Teaching them to observe observe all things that I have commanded and lo I am with you always
even to the end of the age and
Here we see under this ministry of talking or the ministry of the word that we're to be engaged in
evangelism and
edification or if you like if the Lord's people are edified if
They're taught through the ministry of the word and the ministries of the church
So the church goes out into the highways and the byways so the church is not just inward-looking
Concerning being edified and being taught but it's outward looking
towards the community and towards the lost and
Then we have thirdly here under our little sub point the ministry not only of talking of the word
But the ministry of serving and in particularly to others and what a moving account it was of
Mrs. Nattress Queenie Nattress's
Ministry to so many of us
Mrs. Nattress was one of the first ladies that I met after June when I came to
Newcastle and I can distinctly remember sitting in Jack's lounge room and Queenie bringing me a lovely cup of tea in a biscuit
and
Now we have this ministry of serving
Let's turn to Ephesians 4 11 to 13 because this is a very helpful
Verse and you might like to turn to it
Now here in Ephesians 4 11 to 13 and he gave himself
And he himself gave some to be apostles some to be prophets some to be evangelists and some pastors and teachers
To the equipping of the Saints for the work of ministry
For the edifying of the body of Christ
Till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God
to the perfect man to the measure of the fullness of Christ and
This this idea here of this ministry of serving or this work of
Ministry really means just this work of serving or of being deacons and all of us are
Deacons in God's church. It's just some
appointed to a particular office
now John Patterson
In a sermon he preached at the ordination of David Cawdlewood at Tamworth Reformed Church
And I think it was in 1986. He said these very helpful words and listen carefully
Concerning these verses
the pastor
Teachers are not the ministers God's people are the ministers
Someone showed me a Sunday leaflet and at the top of it it said ministers all the members
assistant to the ministers
Name of the pastor teacher and I thought that was very helpful and what an encouragement
That is tonight and surely all of us
can walk
We can talk and we can serve and so let's be encouraged
Concerning this and the church in
1994
Now we need to hurry on and look at our last
major point and that's our third
Heading and we see this from
This
11 which is our text and from these verses
In every place incense shall be offered to my name and a pure offering
For my name shall be great among the nation says the Lord of hopes says the Lord of hopes
hosts
So we see here that
It
It's very clear what is said here. God says believe my promise my saved people
Will worship me?
So God not only promises us
That he will save his people or my people but that my people will worship me people saved
to worship and
Peter
This is our your third major hitting the first one was
stop
Second one was go and the third one is slow
Now
We want to introduce their sub point here not only because of the message of Christ
but only because of the method of Christ but also because of the means of
gracing Christ and
Here we see in our Old Testament text in every place
Incense shall be offered in my name and a pure offering for my name shall be great among the Gentiles
What is this offering?
What is?
The Prophet as he speaks for the Lord
Talking about here that incense shall be offered in my name a pure offering
Well, I'd like to suggest to you here that he's talking about prayer
Worship
In general but prayer in particular look at Psalm 141 verses 1 and 2
Psalm 141 1 & 2 Lord
I cry out to you make haste to me give ear to my voice
when I cry out to you let my prayer be set before you as
Incense let my prayer be set before you as incense
And then as marvelous words recorded for us in Revelation 5 8 and the 4 and 20 elders found
fell down before the Lamb who is of course Christ each having a harp and a golden bowl
full of incense
Which are the prayers of the Saints?
golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the Saints I
Want to ask them simple questions, why do we pray well we pray
Firstly because of the example of Christ
look at Hebrews 5 7 to 8 and
We read these wonderful words in Hebrews 5 7 to 8 who in the days of his flesh
when he offered up prayers and supplications
That with vermin cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death
And was heard because of his godly fear though
He was a son yet. He learned obedience by the things he suffered
so we see here the
Why are we to pray because of the example of Christ?
But
Also, we had a pray because we are commanded to pray and we see that Paul says in 1 Timothy 2 8
Therefore I desire that men pray everywhere
Lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubt and here he is giving instructions to a new church
And we also read in 1 Thessalonians
517 where the Apostle is again writing to the Thessalonians
He gives this list at the end of his book and he says pray without ceasing
Pray without ceasing
Now we want to ask another question
Who do we pray to and the answer is we pray to God the Father?
we pray to God the Father and
of course
You'll remember the words of the Lord's Prayer our Father in heaven hallowed be thy name
so
We pray to God the Father and how do we pray to God or we can only pray to God through Christ?
You remember the scripture says that no man can look on God and live
Remember the example of Moses the story of Moses
He hid in the rock as the Lord passed over him
I've got that beautiful song Rock of Ages cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee
So we can only pray
Through Christ and
We're told for there is one God and mediator between God a man the man Christ Jesus
and
We're told
That
We are also to present our live our bodies a living sacrifice
holy and
acceptable to God
Now if we're to pray to God the Father
We can only pray through Christ
Who helps us to pray to God?
And
We can answer that question by saying the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us and we read in Romans 8 26
The Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know what we should pray for
What we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings
That cannot be answered the Spirit helps us in our weakness as we pray
Now when should we pray well, of course we should be in prayer all the time
We're to pray without ceasing and there's a great challenge for me and I'm sure
For all of us that we're to pray in private
God says that we are to
Go into the secret place
It closed the door
Lock out the world and to pray to him
But he says to we're to pray in our families and a hit and as heads of home
The conviction comes to me and I'm sure it does to those of us who are the heads of family. We're to pray with our
Children with our wives and with our families and then of course, we're to pray as a church
Someone has said the church that prays together stays together and it's that
It's not a bad saying
The family that prays together surely stays together, too
Now we want to conclude our message
What does this say to you who are unsaved?
well as we have gone through the
message of Christ I
Want to challenge you again if you are not the Lord's to turn to him come to him now
Believe the message of the gospel that you are a sinner and that you need to be saved
Come as you are
Don't say Lord, I'm not fit to come
Let not conscience make you linger nor of fitness fondly dream
All the fitness he requires is to feel your need of him. So come come to the Lord now
come and
He will save you. He's promised to save you
Now to those who are saved in conclusion this evening
Let's pray
But let's pray the promises
Let's pray this promise and let's believe as
We pray because surely as we pray God will give his faith
He will
Open our eyes
once again to not only pray his promises, but believe his promises and don't we have
So many promises and God's Word concerning the salvation of us the Gentiles
Let's
Believe by faith these promises and then let's obey the commands
The method of Christ the command to go into the highways and the byways
the command to
walk with the gospel the command to talk the gospel and the command to be
Involved
In a ministry of service to others and let's do this in the power and in the strength
of the risen Christ
So this I believe is God's New Year whistle is God's New Year message for us
We have here a warning
But we have here two great promises
God says
Believe my promise. I am saving my people
and God says believe my promise my people will worship me and then we
May be able to say by God's grace
at our watch time service here he
carry in the end of
1994 we may be able to utter these words
My name is
great
among the Gentiles because he has saved some of the Gentiles from this area and
They are now
Offering up swim sweet incense in his name
Pure offerings of prayer because they have been saved and he has saved them to worship him
Amen