The Centrality of the Preached Word

Amen. Regarding the birth of our first granddaughter.

So thank you for your prayers. She's doing great. These are brief interruption just in case that some of you is for some of you.

This is the first time with us. We tend to have an expository preaching every week. We just made a quick stop for a short series about the life in the church.

So this is just what's intended to be six sermons. Each one of the elders was going to be taking a topic. And today was supposed to be the last.

There's going to be an additional one. Pastor Dave, Lord's Day is going to bring one to close the mini-serie about the life in the church.

The first sermon was regarding to our life in the church as the result of the grace of God pouring our hearts, saving us, and bringing us into the body of Christ.

The second message was regarding loving and serving one another. The third was regarding the importance of becoming a member of a church, becoming a part of a church.

The one after that was regarding about our generosity. God has been so gracious with us. So we are giving him from what he gives us as a sign of worship and gratitude for the advancement of his kingdom.

The one prior to this one, not this last Sunday, but the last one of the series, the fifth one, was regarding worship. Importance of the worship when we gather as a church.

And today we're going to be speaking about the centrality of God's word. And you'll figure it out soon that the last two sermons regarding worship and the preaching of the word, they are extremely well connected.

So we'll be going over a little bit on that. So let's bow down in prayer. Almighty, we come before you.

Creative heavens and earth, as we were just singing, cherubims and seraphims, a vision of heaven where they are continuously worshiping you as you deserve.

Our hope is that one day we'll be joining the multitude of heavenly hosts, all without sin and without blame, in your presence, face to face, worshiping forever and ever.

May this be a foretaste of this worship in heaven one day that today will get your blessings and your guidance and your Holy Spirit will minister to us.

May you be greatly exalted. Almighty try on God for your glory we pray. Amen. As I just mentioned, we're going to be speaking out about the centrality of God's word in his church.

I remember reading a while ago in one of Spurgeon's books where he compared the church as the barracks in the midst of a war, a place where the soldiers will go and find refuge.

He illustrates that and to tell us that that's what happens when we come to church every Sunday. Soldiers need a retreat.

They need admonitions. They need to take a break. They need to, you know, to be ready to keep going in the battle and we come every week to the church in a sense to be able to be refreshed, to be able to gain spiritual energies.

Not just that we're coming to worship which is the main purpose of coming to church to worship the Almighty but as we do it we are blessed. We are ministered.

We are strengthened. God's word has a it does a work in our souls and we are better off to keep going ahead in this battle our Christian life is a daily battle.

So again the fact that we're coming to worship does not contradict the fact that we are refreshed and blessed as we are engaging ourselves in giving God the best from ourselves and we procure and try to give the best that we can to you all.

that we could have the experience of being blessed. I will have one point the word of God in his church and I'm going to focus in three main passages.

the first of them is going to be in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 through 5 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 through 5 but besides that illustration that I just gave you about Spurgeon I also want to throw there another illustration that I'm going to be wrapping it up at the end and the other one will be about a chaotic traffic I remember watching a video once in one of the third world countries where it's just a chaos traffic is just a chaos including some of our countries traffic is an intersection and traffic from all directions are crossing at the same time including pedestrians and motorcycles and other type of vehicles that in some of those countries are available there are probably lights and roof and stop signs but the reason why it's a mess is because they do not follow the rules or either they are not enforced or they don't care or or they they may know them but they prefer not to follow the rules so the result is chaos and we'll see as I mentioned

I'm going to go over this at the end that the same could be happening in our spiritual lives God has given us rules God has given us his word God has given us his moral law and what does God see when he looked down to us how are we behaving how are we conducing ourselves in our lives at the light of his moral law let's say when he looked down is he seeing a perfectly peaceful traffic flowing or he may be seeing something else I don't want to make you think that we're just here as believers to obey traffic laws or the moral law and that's what's going to make us pleasing to God that's completely wrong we have been introduced into

God's people by grace no one deserves heaven no one that's why God himself the son of God had to become a man a human like us to pay in his own flesh with his own body with his own endurance and obedience to pay the price the chastisement that was needed to be able to please the holy God whom we have offended so we have been chosen by grace the same way Israel was chosen by God to be redeemed from slavery and God gave them his laws and statutes and commandments the same exact way we were brought by the gospel to Christ Jesus to become part of God's people by grace again

I'll be expanding at the end regarding what was required from the people of God in the Old Testament and what is expected from us in the New Testament going through this first passage preaching and instructing to equip the church 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 through 9 Timothy Paul is speaking to Timothy I may be paraphrasing if you're following your reading but I'll be staying within the passage Timothy Paul speaking I charge you in the presence of God and Jesus Christ who is the judge of the living and the dead and by his appearance in his kingdom that you preach the word reprove rebuke exhort with complete patience and teaching for the time is coming when people will not endure that means people will not tolerate the sound teaching but itching having itching ears will accumulate for themselves teachers to soothe their own passions in other words people will find teachers according to their lusts and their wishes that will accommodate them rather than faithful preachers and teachers so they will find these teachers to soothe their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths but as for you

Timothy always be sober sober minded endure endure the suffering do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry 2nd Timothy 1 verses 13 follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that is in Christ Jesus chapter 2 verse 2 2nd Timothy 2 2 and when you have heard from me remember Paul is speaking to Timothy and when you have heard from me in presence of many witnesses!

entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach also others! 2nd Timothy 3 14 but as for you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed knowing from whom you have learned it and how from your childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are also able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus all scripture is breathed by God has been inspired breathed God gave his word to the men that were the instruments to write it all scriptures is breathed by God and profitable for teaching reproof correction and for training in righteousness that the men of

God may be complete equipped for every good word so Timothy as an elder as a pastor is being instructed to preach to teach God's word and remember this is an epistle that was written to a church to a pastor that was to someone that was serving the church of God in this case it was written to Timothy so all these instructions of being faithful to the teachings of the apostle Paul that has been instructed directly by God inspired by the Lord instructed by the Lord so we have to be careful where we're getting our instruction on our end for ourselves the only place where we can find

God's word is here in the book of Revelation we read that there are warnings to those that will add or subtract for the things that God has revealed or if even an angel come down from heaven preaching or teaching a different gospel we're not allowed to listen or pay attention so God's word now for us is being piled in this precious book in his word so all these instructions to Timothy for ourselves means that we as elders or teachers or preachers or evangelists the source should be only this word God's word so we have to be faithful and it's useful

God's word as we just read it's it's useful to reprove to reprove to rebuke so that the man of God will be complete be ready for all good work and also to help us to face the challenges of the enemy or the false teaching that will encroach and he promises that will come into the church so that tells us that in God's mind his word is of great value as a main portion of our worship services is the preaching of God's word if you remember the primitive church with the apostles that they gave a high priority of the preaching of

God's word remember the occasion when Apostle Paul was preaching such a long sermon that a young man fell off the window and after he passed away he died he was resurrected and for our surprise they continued the preaching till the morning till next day in the morning I'm not saying I'm going to be preaching that long or any of our elders but what it means is that it was central God's word preached was central and they were eagers eager to suck it to learn from it as we should the second passage the second passage that we're going to be going through is in

Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 through 15 Ephesians 4 1 through 15 again I'm not going to go through all verses so I'm going to be selectively reading from some so this was a letter written to the church in Ephesus God provides the pastors and teachers God is the one that provides those that are going to be ministering to us through the preaching and the teaching of the word Paul writing in his epistle to the church in Ephesus tells us that verse 7 but to each one of us grace was given I'm in verse 7 just in case to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of

Christ and he got himself I'm jumping to verse 11 and he got himself gave some to some to be apostles to others prophets to others evangelists that means proclaimers of good news and to others shepherds and teachers so my main focus here is to communicate that God is the one that appoints God is the one that give give men that give give gifts to men in his church to be the ones are gonna be the elders or the shepherds or the teachers and that's a blessing it's not that we decided we decide that I want to become an elder or pastor and there are human means to achieve that goal and sadly

I lived in Haiti for about three and a half years and it's not to speak against them but I remember being there that there were at least three large seminaries where men from over Haiti will go be trained as pastors get a license from the government and they were ready for any church that would need a shepherd or a pastor and let me tell you the best houses the best the most prestigious people in any community the people that are more likely to get a visa to the United States are the elders are the pastors so that's very attractive humanly speaking in fact when we went to Haiti I was working with a mission the houses and the places we rented belong to pastors because those were the only houses with toilets so we rented from missions or from pastors so that our employees could use and live there so that's not the way it's supposed to be and I'm going to add to that something else at the church I was attending was a church he had a pastor a nominal pastor but the pastor had four or five churches under him so our church wasn't the main church so he would come once in a while but

I remember one of those graduated pastors that came on one Sunday because he was paid enough that he could come if you don't have enough money to pay then they would not come and sadly he was nicely dressed he preached the sermon and before I knew he was gone because he came to accomplish the task I couldn't even say goodbye or farewell he just accomplished the task and went away thankfully in the church of God he is the one that appoints and give give give gifts to the men that God wants to give their gifts to be able to communicate the truth to teach to feed and edify the church the aim is to equip the saints verse 12 the aim is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry for the building up of the body of

Christ verse 13 Ephesians 4 pastors are to equip the church for the work of the ministry for the building of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and to the knowledge of the Son of God to mature to a mature to the mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we may no longer be wavering children tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine by cunning of men by the cunning of men who in order to deceive erupt with error employ deceitful schemes and that speaking the truth in love verse 15 and that speaking the truth in love we will grow up in every way into him who is the head that is

Christ Jesus so if our elders have been appointed by God not by the seminary or by the government if they have been given to the church we are going in the right direction so their work is to equip the saints so that we could come to the unary of the faith and have a complete knowledge of the son of God and become mature spiritually mature in Titus 1 Titus 1 between verses 7 and 9 Titus 1 I'm just just using a portion of verse 7 to introduce that to give context context for it is necessary that the overseer be above that the overseer or the elder or the presbyterous whatever word is used that means pastor or shepherd it's necessary it's giving the qualifications of the elder that's what I just mentioned the introduction so it is necessary that the elders will be holding firm to the trustworthy

God jump into verse 9 holding firm to the trustworthy word as taught the teacher should be closely attached to God's revelation we're not supposed to be adding or suggesting or removing oh I don't want to offend I don't want to whatever I don't want the church to get empty if I'm honest preaching the truth or whatever reasoning or I have to be more targeting certain the youth or whatever no the overseer should be holding firm to the trustworthy God trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it so I'm going to pray at the end that we the

Lord will help our elders because who is for this who is sufficient it is hard it is hard to preach God's word faithfully and trustworthy when we have to prepare to preach we have to see ourselves first what is that word doing with me so that I can communicate that to others so please keep your elders in your prayers the other passage is going to be in the Old Testament the other passages we're going to Nehemiah the response to being exposed to the word the response of being exposed to the word and this was an account after the 70 year of Babylon returning to

Jerusalem I'm going to be in Nehemiah chapter 8 verses 1 through 8 and as you may realize I may skip a list of names that are here that may not be well pronounced by me in English so I may skip the long list of names but I want to go and see that we see the passage together and it says Nehemiah 8 chapter verses 1 through 8 and all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate and they told Ezra the scribe bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel they have been gone out of Babylon for 70 years they are rebuilding the walls they are rebuilding the temple and they are now gathered as a restoration they get together at this place and they ask

Ezra the scribe please bring the law bring the law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel we want to hear what God has said we want to know about God bring it so they were there together and he read from it facing the square that that is before the water gate from early morning until mid day from early morning till mid day in the presence of men women and all those who could understand repeating they were all men women and all those who could understand and just to take advantage of this that's why we in our churches have like our children when they can understand to be present in the worship services if they can understand they should be here they shouldn't be playing or doing things somewhere else so

I'm glad that our reform background helped us to understand the importance of exposing even our children sadly other churches this day have an entertaining time while their parents aren't being exposed to God's word it's very sad what would they expect from those children later on when they want to bring them to the understanding of the truth they didn't value so they were all together including children that could understand hearing God's word being read the law of Moses so it was read for a long time in the presence of these people and all the ears of the people were attentive to the book of the law and Ezra the scribes stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose and beside him stood well you'll see the names there a list of names on the left and on the right then

Ezra opened the book in the sight of all people for he was above the people and he opened it all the people stood and Ezra blessed the Lord the great God and all the people answered amen amen lifting up their hands and they bowed down their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground so are you listening when they were exposed to God's word to the love God to love this holy God to the things that God expects us to do as his people even though and you'll see later if you keep reading I'm not going to be reading a lot on the passage because it's long that at a point they were sad because

God's word even though it tells us about God but it also humiliates us confront us so it's amazing that we have a God that gives us instructions of how we should behave and do things because all the things are for our good when we obey God God's laws we are blessed and the people surrounding us are blessed we won't create a traffic jam if we are following the rules you see we will be blessed we will be kept we will be admired even though we may be hated for our faith but people will us and that's transforming our hearts our understanding we're getting to know

God better and we our response should be oh what a God what a wonderful God what a merciful God what a powerful God I have so so that should be our response response so then the Levites Yeshua!

etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. these Levites after that they helped the people to understand the law the Levites took the people come let's reason let's let me let me explain you better all these things what is God intending in giving us these things so they were helping the people and they read from the book from the law of God clearly and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading so there is a you may remember an occasion in when God's people was taken out from Egypt they are already on the way to the promised land and God asked Moses come into my presence go on top of the mount and he stood there he spent 40 days and 40 nights before

God's presence had to do actually twice God gave him the Ten Commandments his moral law when he comes down remember there was a party he has to go back to the mountain and God himself and he's asking God please reveal yourself to me Moses when I experienced God close in a close way and then God said you cannot see me nobody can see me and be alive so God in a sense revealed himself and spoke about himself before Moses so Moses response was bowing down in worship as well when he was before God's presence and God revealing himself he bowed down in worship and remember what happened when he came down to the mountain with the Ten Commandments that his face was shining his face was shining so someone mentioned once that it is impossible to be in

God's presence or it is impossible to worship God and not be transformed I'm going to repeat it is impossible to worship God and not be transformed in this case something happened his face was shining and he actually had to cover the face so that people won't look at him and maybe worship him so as we come to worship God again we should be transformed or when we worship God it doesn't matter how it doesn't have to be a church it can be on your own when you want to spend time in God's presence giving him remember worshiping is to give there is a lot of confusion people think they're going to church to sit down and receive and be!

hear a message you're going to be doing that but you have to come to church to worship God and everything that is happening in the church is with the intent to worship God otherwise you'll be an expectator finding faults in everything that you look around or hear sadly you're going to be wasting your time that was given to you to give to God while we're doing all this anything can we learn anything from all these things yeah we must gather in the church each week as God has appointed!

in turn take part of the worship service Hebrews 10 you know the passage church not neglecting to meet together as it's a habit of some we are commanded by God to to be present in the worship services in not to neglect congregating or gathering together we should come to church prepared beforehand to meet with our God to worship him to take part of the prayers and thanksgivings to exalt his holy name to lift up our voices with hymns and praises and spiritual songs to hear the word being read and being taught being preached to give him our tithes and offerings to give to partake of the

Lord's supper if it's offered on that day or even to be a witness of a baptism if there is someone that has come to faith in Christ like this coming Sunday we're going to be having a baptism so we could be present to participate in worship giving thanks to God for what he's doing everything that we do in the worship service should be done according to the reveal will of God in the scriptures their regulative principle we're not here to decide what to add to the church to make it more attractive we should be careful how do things at church we don't want to bring to the church a strange fire like we know in the Old Testament when they offered to God a fire that God has never ordained they were burned alive in the act of offering something strange to God so we have to be careful of the things we do in the church that's why we try to keep it the best we can and that we may not as I heard once many many years ago that somebody that

I know with a friend went to a church and that morning they were blessing the pets in the church bring your pets because we're going to bless them today so we have to be careful I have to be careful our worshiping services are a foretaste of our final worship in heaven as I mentioned at the beginning one day in the consummation of all things we're going to be able to be in the presence of God himself revelation seven verses nine and ten and after this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb one day will be in eternity forever and ever enjoying the eternal worshiping of God without sin without blame without distractions without children without anything that could be on the way today!

The serious deep and consistent reading and preaching of the word of God must occupy a place of utmost importance in our worship services the deep consistent reading and preaching of God's word that should be central in our worship services we must make certain that our pastors and teachers have been gifts given by God to carry out this labor of exposing the word the whole counsel of God Acts 20 27 Paul speaking for I did not shrink from declaring you the whole counsel of God I have exposed Paul is telling brethren I have taught you all of the counsel of God

John MacArthur will say that when we are exposed to faithful expository preaching to deep teaching of the deep teaching of his word and to the understanding of it it will produce as consequence a transcendent expression of worship when we are exposed to sound teaching to serious teaching it will transform our worship life it should produce a life with as he mentions as a transcendent expression of worship the way we conduct ourselves and participate in the worship services of this of the church may and would be the way we conduct ourselves in the worship services and I will go even further the lack of interest the lack of interest we show or we may show in being present in the prayer meetings and even in the

Bible classes that we offer every Sunday we have the worship services but before there or after the English service we have Bible classes that will teach us the word of God so I say I will go even further when we are showing a lack of interest in these things it might mean I'm not accusing ourselves the elders that we have not been taught a sound doctrine or that we are not taking God's word in our hearts and giving God priority in our lives so it's either or you haven't been taught the truth or we're neglecting God's word and closing our hearts and remember you are not supposed to be fed only by coming on Sunday to this church and hear our pastors or teachers you're responsible at home to get to go know on your own and to make the word a real truth in your life and keep it in your heart as

Psalm 119 lamp that is telling us that God's word is the lamp that God's word we should treasure in our hearts it's a lamp into our path it will light our ways and we are hidden thy word I have hidden my heart that I may not sin against you so if we're lacking in loving God in being here present that may be showing the world God God's word has not been transforming my soul my heart and remember we're not going to be in heaven our ticket to heaven does it it's not because you're coming or not coming remember I mentioned at the beginning you have been saved by grace but God has expectations

God has instructions for his people that we may honor him once we're saved to go back to the very beginning of the message I mentioned about that the church is like the barracks we're coming to worship but as we come we're fed we're trained we're strengthened we get out here stronger we might be confronted but we may God's intention is that we do things right that we will honor him in everything we do there in Deuteronomy chapter 4 when God was giving them all these instructions and laws he warns them that they shouldn't add or withdraw of any of the things he has taught them and

God was expecting that his people we put them into practice in obedience God saved us and he wants us to give him glory in the way we live and that's where he's saying I'm not going to read it for the sake of time Deuteronomy chapter 4 it's verses 1 2 3 9 and 10 he said the people will marvel when they see the way you behave how many wise counsels has that God given you they will find you to be a special people because God's people should honor him by the way they fear God and they honor him and they obey him and in the New Testament do we have anything like that yes at the very beginning of the Lord Jesus ministry in

Matthew chapter 5 do not think I have come to destroy or abolish the law no I came to fulfill! And he warns them and I want to read it because I don't want to I I'm gonna the Lord says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 13 do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them for truly I say to you until heaven and earth pass away nor a yota or a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least great in the kingdom of heaven for I tell you unless your righteousness do not exceed that from the scribes and the

Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven I'm just going to summarize that if the Lord Jesus saying unless your obedience surpasses that of the Pharisees and you gain your own entrance to heaven you're not going to be!

that's not what he's teaching there he's teaching there if you are mine and you have been saved you have been equipped you have been given the love of God has been poured in your heart you have been given a new heart a new mind God's love has been poured in your heart and the way that you're proving that you are in the way to heaven is because you're walking obeying for their own sake we're obeying to honor God God required the people in the Old Testament you're going to be honoring me people are going to marvel when they see your obedience they're going to exalt the God of heaven we as Christians when we walk pleasing God it's like the illustration of the traffic jam we are here to love our God we're here to tell him you matter to me oh

Lord forgive me if I am not doing my best we all fail that's why we all need Christ God's demands are very high and the only answer the only refuge we run to Christ run to Christ because there's no other way in which we could be saved let's pray and give thanks to God Almighty thank you again for helping us may your word enlighten our hearts and minds and souls that we will love you with all hearts and mind and understanding and strength help us we pray if we had to come back to the Lord Jesus in confession of sin and repentance draw us to Jesus Christ he's willing to save he already paid the price of our redemption be greatly exalted thank you pray in

Jesus name amen Thank you.