An Awesome Church
A Lord Worth Loving • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 42:29
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· 1 viewMorning 7 april 24
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9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.
Introduction
Have seen how the Shulamite has been reconciled to her husband and the sinner reconciled to Christ. Christ speaks graciously to the sinner and in so doing declares the wonder of his church. Christ’s church is awesome, beautiful and unique. Here we consider that awesomeness.
Awesome – Inspiring awe – Awe – a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear and wonder.
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1. Appearance
1. Appearance
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4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.
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a. Beautiful
a. Beautiful
4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.
Why Tirzah? Tirzah was a city in Samaria whose name means pleasantness, sweetness, delight, agreeable. For some time it was the residence of one of the ancient kings of Canaan (see Josh. 12:24) and then some of the kings of Israel. It continued a chief royal city until in Omri’s reign the city of Samaria itself became the capital of the northern kingdom, after the division into north and south (see 1 Kgs. 16). …This was evidently a most beautiful site, with gardens, groves and an abundant water supply. Brooks, R. [1]
Early capital city of the divided kingdom of Israel (1 Kgs 14:17; 15:21, 33; 16:6–23).
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b. Lovely
b. Lovely
4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.
Why Jerusalem? If Tirzah was striking, Jerusalem was even more so. At first it was a stronghold of the Jebusites, then became the metropolis of all Israel and centre of the Davidic-Solomonic empire, and then the residence of the kings of Judah after the division of the kingdom. Its name means city or foundation of peace.[2]
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c. God’s Dwelling
c. God’s Dwelling
1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress.
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1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” 2 Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3 Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, 4 to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. 5 There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.
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1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded; 2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah
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1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
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2. Strong
2. Strong
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a. God is the Foundation
a. God is the Foundation
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Matthew 16:16–18 (ESV)
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
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18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
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b. The Body of Christ
b. The Body of Christ
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
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28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
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8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
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21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
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3. Powerful
3. Powerful
4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.
The picture intended is that of an army marching forth with banners unfurled, confident of victory, afraid of no man. The church of Christ is not only beautiful and lovely, but awesome as well. This is very significant, and not how the church is usually thought of, even by those who by grace belong to her.[3]
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“We could never dream of the victory being won by such means as Jehovah will use. We must obey our marching orders and go forth to the conquest of the nations for Jesus, and we shall find that the Lord has gone before us, and prepared the way; so that in the end we shall joyfully confess, “His own right hand, and his holy arm, have gotten him the victory.” Spurgeon, C. H.
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a. Kingdom
a. Kingdom
Revelation 1:5–6 (ESV)
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
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b. God’s Word
b. God’s Word
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14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
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17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
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12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
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c. Faith
c. Faith
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
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1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
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d. Spiritual
d. Spiritual
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12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
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10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
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3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
Conclusion
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25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’
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33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Like a mighty army
Moves the Church of God:
Brothers, we are treading
Where the saints have trod;
We arе not divided
All one Body we
Onе in faith and Spirit
One eternally