Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: We look at ourselves with our weakness, our frailties, our sin, our difficulties, and we think, could I really be designed for the worship of an eternal, holy, all-powerful God? And yet the assurance of the scriptures is God is saying, I so honor my people that I have designed them for worship.

Narrator: So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace. The audio broadcast ministry of Pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Bryan unpacks the claims of Psalm 100. Doctor Chapell illustrates how a cause for thanksgiving can negate doubtfulness and magnify our joyfulness.

You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for Pastor Bryan's book, The Multigenerational Church Crisis. This compelling book asks the question of the church, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the lesson, Teddy Bear Mission.

Bryan Chapell: It was a card like this, simple postcard. Teddy bear drawn on it. A teddy bear postcard that broke a man's back. His name, Heraldo Gutierrez. Cathy and I know him simply as Jerry. Third-generation communist leader in Peru. His grandfather had been the head of the Communist Party in Peru, his father a leader, and Jerry himself was the general secretary of the Communist Youth Party in Peru.

Designed and dedicated to opposing a repressive government. And because the government was so aligned with the Roman Catholic Church, Jerry also fought the church as well as the government as the General Secretary of the Communist Youth Party. And so he argued at universities against God, he argued against church officials and with them, and belittled the missionaries who came to the land to try to reach people like him.

Until one night, when having incited a riot, government troops were searching for him and he ended up knocking on the door of PCA missionaries, John and Wilma Marshall, and asking for help.

You say that you care about me. You say that you will help me. I need help. If the troops arrest me, it is torture and prison. Will you do what you say? Will you care for me? And so they hid him under a blanket in their home that night at risk of their own lives and futures, and his life was safe that night.

But it was just temporal safety. The missionaries knew that, even Jerry knew it. So they began conversations with him, not just about temporal things, but eternal things. He laughed at it, thought it was silly until one day the Marshals, who had been writing their supporters in the United States, got a letter from the daughter of one of those supporters, and the letter contained the postcard written to Jerry. Mr. Jerry, I just want you to know that Jesus loves you and that I'm praying for you. And Jerry told us later, that was the card that broke his back.

That broke the back of rebellion, of resistance to the truths of the gospel. He said if if God could so care for him with what he had done against God that he would have a little child write of Christ's love, then with thanksgiving in his heart he began to seek that God. I've known that account for a long time because I've known Jerry for a long time. He was a student at Covenant Seminary.

And after I got to know him and his story, I heard a lecture one time by the Christian philosopher, Os Guinness. And Os Guinness said something quite unusual. He said this, he said, we often think in Christian circles that the opposite of doubt is faith. But in ordinary Christian lives, that's not the way it functions. Most people don't overcome doubt with reasons for God, with a rational discussion that balances truth claims. Most people come to contradict doubt by thanksgiving.

They get just a taste of the care of God, of a care that is eternal, of a care that goes beyond the trials of this world. And and just the sense that there is there is a God who cares beyond temporal material things, give them such a sense of thanksgiving that that's why they seek God. It's the magnetism of the care of God more than the reasons for God that leads most people to heaven. The counter of doubt is thanksgiving.

It's what happened in Jerry's life. He was so thankful that a missionary family would care for him, that a little girl would write to Jesus care, that that it was thanksgiving that was his path to God himself. It may be why the psalmist writes of so much thanksgiving here, at a time that Israel would be so filled with doubt of God's care and promise-keeping and covenant-keeping. If God is true, if he's real, if he really cares as he said, and we're going through this suffering, through this difficulty, then how do we find our way back? Is he real there? What would overcome your doubt? Cause for thanksgiving.

And it is that cause for thanksgiving that begins to unfold in the Psalm. The the first clear cause for giving thanks that we are designed for worship. All people. I mean, it's the opening verse, you recognize it, as the psalmist writes, Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing. All the earth, all people in it are designed for worship.

We look at ourselves with our weakness, our frailties, our sin, our difficulties, and we think, could I really be designed for the worship of an eternal, holy, all-powerful God? And yet the assurance of the scriptures is God is saying, I so honor my people that I have designed them for worship. And actually, don't just invite, but instruct them to come before me with singing. Now I know some of you are thinking, if I'm designed for worship through singing, it's not a very good design.

You know, we think to ourselves, the only way I sing is in the key of E flat or me croak. You know, I I just can't participate the way the wonderful musicians up here lead us. I I wish I could, but that's not me. And we need to remind ourselves that singing is not the only form of praise. We can praise God in other ways. This this last week I spent the week in a in a fish camp with a number of men from Grace Church in in rugged settings as as you can tell without, you know, the benefits of razors. Actually, we had razors, but it wasn't very pleasant to shave.

We started every morning with a devotional. I would read a scripture and express a few thoughts. And then those wonderful men around the kitchen table would begin to express their thoughts as well. It wasn't forced, nobody was required. And yet the men would follow with talking about the beauty of the creation that we were enjoying. The wonder and the goodness of God's care for their families.

The beauty of their own salvation, knowing their weakness and sin. And I recognize as they were praising God, their joy was actually increasing. Because they were fulfilling their design function. As we are designed to praise God, when we fulfill that design, our hearts begin to soar. We're actually rising to the purpose for which God made us.

And of course that leads us back to the subject of singing, doesn't it? We don't we don't gather here to sing only because God deserves our praise. We also gather to sing because it refreshes our hearts. If we can't sing, if we just become enclosed and self-focused and interned, then what happens is we become closed only to ourselves. But by singing, by praising God, we we lift our voices, we lift our hearts, we see God clearly, we participate in the praise that God designed for us to express. And so our hearts soar as God intend, and by praising God, we actually increase our joy.

And the way that we serve one another in a church is those of you who actually can sing, if you'll actually add enough volume, those of us who are self-conscious about our croaking can actually participate. It's it's why we all want to sing together. We know that singers are croakers. When we are praising God, we're releasing our souls from the introspection, from the self-consciousness, and saying, how great is my God, how wondrous is his love. I want to tell others, I want my own soul to feel it.

And the way that we serve one another, as we all sing together, is by having enough volume and care that we become without self-consciousness, simply letting our hearts praise God as he designed us to do. It's a wonder, a glory that he enables us to praise him in that way, and and in itself is part of our cause for thanksgiving. That our design purpose by an eternal God is to bring him honor that increases our joy when we do so.

Narrator: You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of Pastor and author Bryan Chapell. It may seem hard for younger Christians to believe, but people over 50 were raised during an era when 90% of Americans identified as Christian. These older believers were once part of a majority group that understood the mission of the church was to take control of our culture, to halt its evils. At the same time, Christians under 50 have lived their entire lives perceiving themselves as a minority that needs to make credible their faith to a secular, pluralistic culture.

These distinct experiences and perceptions have a profound impact on the priorities different generations have for church ministry. It's no wonder that younger and older believers don't always see eye to eye. In his new book, The Multigenerational Church Crisis, Dr. Bryan Chapell asks the question, what could be accomplished in the name of Christ if we could better understand each other? This practical and hopeful book is backed by thorough research, revealing how to open the lines of communication, appreciate the experiences that shaped each generation in your church, and unite in one mission to impact your community and the world.

You can request your copy of The Multigenerational Church Crisis when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41-Grace. That's 844-414-7223. And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: How great is my God, how wondrous is his love. I want to tell others, I want my own soul to feel it. And the way that we serve one another, as we all sing together, is by having enough volume and care that we become without self-consciousness, simply letting our hearts praise God as he designed us to do. It's a wonder, a glory that he enables us to praise him in that way, and and in itself is part of our cause for thanksgiving. That our design purpose by an eternal God is to bring him honor that increases our joy when we do so.

The reasons that we praise him are also stated here. Why why would we worship God? Verse 3 is pretty clear. Know that the Lord he is God. It is he who made us and we are his, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. What is the cause of this worship that honors God and refreshes us? The first claim of the psalmist is that the Lord is God. Now, in our English language that just sounds redundant. The Lord is God. I want you to know that. The Lord is God. We say, well, the engine is the motor. I want you to know that, the engine is the, we say, why would you say the same thing twice?

Because there's something very special the psalmist is saying, The Lord is God. The word for Lord there is Jehovah. The God of Israel. That's his personal name, not the title God, but Jehovah is God. The God of Israel, the covenant-keeping, eternally loving, the God who would not reject, the God who would not walk away. That Jehovah is God. And when the psalmist is saying to us, Jehovah is God. He's against the spirit of our own age, saying, it's not all the other gods of all the other nations who are God.

God is not generic. He's not a combination of different religions. Israel's Lord is God is what he is saying. And that is why even Jesus himself, when he spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, do you remember? And she was worshiping outside the covenant of Israel. And Jesus said to her, you worship what you do not know. We Jews worship what we do know because salvation is from the Jews. Yahweh is God. The Lord is God.

And when we say that, we are saying, God has worked in time and eternity and in this world for a purpose. He worked through Israel as a covenant-keeping God, saying to Abraham, in you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Because you see, it truly sounds intolerant and bigoted in our age today to say, Israel's God is the God. Not all other gods, not all other perceived gods, Jehovah is the true God. You say, well that's that's sounds very intolerant, sounds like you're not very caring. And in fact that is true unless Jehovah is the only true God.

And then the most loving thing that God's people can do is point to the one true God. Not to false gods, not to things that can't save, but if we say, Jehovah's God is the God, and I tell you that, not to demean you, not to demean other faiths, but to say, that is the contention of scripture. And if it sounds isolationist, remember it is all lands that are called to worship. It is all peoples of the earth who are to be blessed through Israel's God. God was keeping a covenant by which Christ would come, whose goal, whose intention was to provide for the salvation of all who would trust in him.

That's that's the wideness of the mercy of God. But but to have mercy, it's got to be in a proper purpose, a proper object. And so our worship is directed to the Lord who is God. And just to show how great is the care of that God, not only is the first claim of the psalmist that Jehovah is God, the second claim of the psalmist here is that we are his. Right? As you continue through verse 3, it says, it is he who made us and we are his.

We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Wonderful unfolding of the way in which God cares, each claim more magnificent than the one prior. He made us. He is the Creator God. Not requiring the work of others, not not requiring other systems. God made us. He is the Creator God, and the same one who made us claims us. What would it what it mean for you to actually believe that God made you? The same God that created the universe had enough intentionality and intimate affection that he would make you out of all things.

One of my joys in this vacation that we just had was to raft the Grand Canyon. So that's 200 miles and a little over a week of rafting rapids down the Grand Canyon, and at night just sleeping out under the stars. It's a desert, so you don't have to worry about the mosquitoes. And for me, just to be under a sheet or sometimes when the hot wind was blowing, you felt like you were sleeping in a hair dryer, you know. To just kind of look up at the clear skies without any light pollution and just see the magnitude of creation.

And with nothing between you and the stars, think, I'm seeing a few thousand, but there are millions. And some of those stars are so big that our whole solar system would fit in just one of them. Thousands upon thousands, millions, constellations, solar systems. It's all and God made it all. And and in my mind, I just heard it over and over again, the words of Psalm 8. When I behold the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you have made. What is man that you are mindful of him?

Our God so vast in his creative ability, and yet he made us, you and me, cared about us, and not only cares about us by creating us, but but then claims us. He made us and we are his. We are his people. That claim is not just the claim of creation, it is the claim of salvation. How does our God ultimately claim us, but by the blood and the provision of his own Son. The God who made all things provided his Son to save you and me individually in this vast creation. And and to think of what that meant. I I felt in a very special way as we were rafting down the Grand Canyon.

Some of you may have traveled in the Western states. And so you know when you're driving to the Grand Canyon, you actually go through what's called the Grand Staircase through the West, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and then actually down to the Grand Canyon. As you're actually descending in steps over thousands of feet down to the Grand Canyon. And then when you start in the Grand Canyon and rafting, you actually start in the upper regions, and as you are going almost 200 miles, you're actually cutting deeper and deeper and deeper into the earth. So by the time you get to the end of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, you've actually descended another mile down.

Till you get to that point that you're actually seeing the earth's bedrock. And you can actually hold your arms in such a way that you can touch bedrock with one hand, and then you can touch all the earth above it with your other hand. Which means that you are actually beginning to look upward 10,000 feet of limestone and sediment and shale that are all the product of the earth's curse. Fall and flood and corruption and sin all above you.

And down here, creation stone. And to recognize that what God did to claim us is he sent his Son, the rock of our salvation to bear the corruption of the entire world. It was God's will to crush him, says the scripture. And for that reason he claimed us, allowing the Son of God to take the sin that is yours, the sin that is mine, the corruption of the world, and by just penalty taking it all on himself so that our God could claim us and say, the penalty has been paid. The corruption has centered on the one who could take it and him alone. And because that has happened, you can be free. The creation now begins to show its true beauty as we begin to understand, he made us and we are his.

And the wonder of that is our cause for worship.

Bryan Chapell: Hi, friend, this is Pastor Bryan. I'm glad you decided to tune in and listen, and I would consider it a privilege to pray over you today. let's pray together. Heavenly Father, what a privilege we have to come to you in prayer. Your word says that we can come to you about anything, not just the big things, and not just the things that we think we have figured out. Instead, you love us so much that you say do not be anxious for anything. But in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving for your certain care, we can offer our requests to you. And then because we know that the God who controls all the outcomes of things on earth and for eternity, cares this much for us, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds for whatever we face with Jesus. We do not expect our prayers to end all our trials before Jesus comes. But we know that you will use our prayers, Father, to make all things work together for good until Jesus returns. Thank you for this promise and assurance. Give us the peace and the strength we need through these promises and assurances we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Narrator: That's Pastor Bryan Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If you've been blessed by this message and would like to hear more from Dr. Chapell, I would encourage you to visit unlimitedgrace.com. In addition to messages from Pastor Bryan, you can explore the many sermons, podcasts, seminars, and more available to you.

Please be sure to join us next time as once again, we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.