Which Churches Get The God Of Peace?

Yeah, let's turn to Philippians 4.

And our sermon text today begins at verse 4,

goes through verse 9.

1 Timothy 3 says that the Word of God

is breathed out by the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 4 says the Word of God is living,

powerful, and piercing.

If you receive it that way,

when I'm done reading our sermon text,

I'll say this is the Word of the Lord,

and you can say thanks be to God.

Philippians 4, 4 through 9.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say rejoice.

Let your gentleness be known to all.

The Lord is at hand.

Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds

through Christ Jesus.

Verse 8.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,

whatever things are noble,

whatever things are just,

whatever things are pure,

whatever things are lovely,

whatever things are of good report,

if there is any virtue,

if there is anything praiseworthy,

meditate on these things.

The things which you learned and received

and heard and saw in me,

these do.

And the God of peace will be with you.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Isaiah 40 says that the grass withers,

the flower fades,

but the Word of the Lord stands forever.

Luke 1 tells us that no word from God

shall be void of power.

Would you pray with me?

Father, I ask simply today

that we will know your presence.

We will know what it is to be

in the presence of the God of peace

and to have the peace

that can only come from being in your presence.

Please teach us this, Father.

For your glory we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, brothers and sisters and friends,

air is everywhere,

but only some species can fly.

They use the air to fly.

You know, think of birds and bats.

Are those the only two really that can fly?

And then we, if we're very generous,

we can say certain types of special squirrels can fly,

but it's really more like gliding.

And then even human beings that copy what the squirrels did

and put on wingsuits,

they can glide like that too.

But God didn't make every species to fly,

even though the air is everywhere.

Jeremiah 23, verses 23 and 24,

Jeremiah 23:23

have a declaration from the creator.

And he says,

I am the God who is everywhere,

not in one place only.

So air is a wonderful illustration for us of God.

He's everywhere.

But we also see in scripture, for example, in 1 Samuel,

the devastation of the nation when the glory of God departs.

But the glorious presence of God no longer with his people.

And if you look at our sermon text in verse 9,

he says,

do these things and the God of peace will be with you.

So while God is everywhere,

there's a special promise for the church

as they obey the calling of Jesus.

And the promise is,

I will then be with you.

Isn't that what a church needs and depends on?

We should want nothing else

than the God of peace himself with us in a special way.

So, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the question we need to wrestle with and understand is this.

Which churches get the God of peace?

Which churches get the God of peace

to be in his presence in a special way?

I see in these verses the promises.

I want us to see together what is the exact audience

that these promises are given to.

And then finally, the commands that we're called to respond to.

The promises, the audience, the commands.

Number one,

God's spirit breathed out two glorious promises in this passage.

And it's a play on words.

Look at verse 7.

He says,

And the God,

I'm sorry, verse 7,

And the peace of God

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And now look at verse 9.

He says,

And the God of peace

will be with you.

In verse 7, it's the peace of God.

In verse 9, it's the God of peace.

So let's look at each of those.

First, the peace of God from verse 7

that will guard you.

The peace of God

is only possible

through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

And the reason for this is because

in Adam all died.

In Adam all live in constant terror

and disruption

and disorder.

At enmity with God

and in strife with fellow man.

That's the state we're born into under Adam.

But in Jesus Christ

comes the peace,

the restored relationship with God

and with man

that is not possible

outside of the person of Jesus Christ.

That's what the peace of God is.

Romans 14, 17 says

that the kingdom of God

which Jesus Christ ushered in and inaugurated,

it is righteousness

and peace

and joy

in the Holy Spirit.

This is exactly the mission of Jesus

for his people.

It's to bring the peace of God.

Some of our greatest

and favorite lines in our songs,

the hymns we love to sing,

they sing of this peace

because we knew how terrible it was

to be under Adam.

But now we have the peace

that's only possible in Christ.

For example,

come O sinner,

come rejoice.

Mercy fills this place of scorn

for he dies

to save his enemies

that all who draw near

may know his peace.

That's his mission.

The peace of God

is greater than anything

this fallen world can offer.

We want the peace of God.

But it doesn't stop

with the peace of God.

He says in verse 9,

this wonderful promise

that the God of peace

will be with you.

Even better,

as one pastor,

Brian Voss,

pointed out,

to have the peace of God

in verse 7

is to have the gift.

What a great gift.

But to have the God of peace

in verse 9

is to have the giver himself.

In verse 9,

the God of peace,

church,

will be with you.

In 1 Thessalonians 5.23,

this is one of my favorite

benedictions

or blessings

for God's people.

Now may the God

of peace himself

sanctify you completely.

May he preserve

your whole spirit,

soul,

and body

blameless

until the coming

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

We sing of this

great truth also.

What heights of love,

what depths

of peace,

when fears are stilled,

when strivings

cease,

through God,

my comforter,

my all in all,

here in the love

of Christ I stand.

I'm in his presence.

It's the God of peace

himself

comforting me

and ministering to me.

Now the God of peace

himself promises

to bless

his true churches

with his own presence.

I will

be with you.

Aren't these wonderful,

glorious promises

that the Holy Spirit

breathed out?

Well the second thing

I need us to see then

is who are these

promises for?

Are these just abstract

things thrown out

in general?

Or do they have

a specific audience

in mind?

I'll try to do this

in as concise

of a way as possible

without you just

taking my word for it.

I want you to see this

in your own word,

your own copy

of God's word.

I think the audience

here is a gathered

congregation.

collectively together.

And so here's my proposition

then I'll walk you through

and you see if you arrive

at the same conclusion

or not.

And I'm sure it could be refined.

But here's what I want

to propose to you.

As we see over and over

we saw already this service.

There are the individual souls

that Christ redeemed.

They are forever secure

in him.

No disputing there.

However, individual churches

have no such security.

God's promises

to a congregation

hinge upon

their collective obedience

to God's commands.

Should I run it by us

one more time?

While individual souls

that Christ redeemed

are forever secure

in him,

individual churches

have no such security.

God promises

to a congregation,

you obey what I've commanded

and the blessings

that will come to you

as a gathered congregation

hinge upon your collective

obedience to these things.

So I want to show you

the audience

is the corporate

gathered congregation.

the first reason for this

is because

all of the times

in these two paragraphs

when Paul uses the word

you or your,

your,

they're all plural.

So very quickly,

verse 5,

your reasonableness.

I'm repeating it

because it helps us

to think of it

the way he intended it.

And in English

we just have the same

word,

you or your,

and it's hard to convey

a plural sense to that word.

Your reasonableness,

church together

being reasonable.

Verse 6,

your request.

What is burdening

the congregation

when we're together?

That's what we lift up to him.

Verse 7,

your hearts and your minds.

Yes,

it's the,

the inward life

of God's people

in a special way

in the plural

when you're gathered together.

In verse 9,

you have learned

together,

you,

you built this understanding,

this faith.

You built it up

in your own hearts and minds.

You've held on to this together.

In verse 9,

he says,

the God of peace

will be with you

in the plural,

together,

gathered in his name.

I think if that's not enough

to persuade you,

his address,

right here in the specific context

in verse 8,

is brethren,

plural.

He had,

he had spoken to individuals,

he caught out people by name,

but here he's addressing

the entire gathered congregation.

The second thing we can use

to answer this question

of who is the audience

is,

is the verbs.

So the verbs

in these two paragraphs,

all of these commands

are to all of the saints.

All of the verbs

are also in the plural.

In verse 4,

he says,

rejoice.

I'll say it again,

rejoice.

The Greek word

is best translated

if,

if we use that

older English word

that does have

a plural sense

of the second person.

It would be ye,

ye,

or y'all,

you know,

but ye.

So rejoice,

rejoice,

it's be ye together

rejoicing.

That's how it would be translated.

Verse 5,

let your plural gentleness

be known to all.

Modesty,

reasonableness,

that's a command,

a verb for the whole congregation

together to practice.

In verse 6,

do not be anxious.

It would be literally

translated this way,

in nothing

be ye worrying.

Let your requests,

your burdens

be lifted up.

In verse 8,

think about these things,

but it's in the plural as well.

Be ye taking into account.

All of you together,

wrestle with,

ponder,

take into account this together

as a gathered people.

And finally in verse 9,

practice these things.

It's be ye practicing.

All of you as one gathered people,

practicing,

marching

in a pattern together.

And now if you'll turn back

in Philippians,

a couple pages,

look at Philippians 1,

second part of verse 1,

he addresses this

to all the saints

in Christ Jesus

who are in Philippi

with the overseers

and deacons.

So he is addressing it

to the entire church.

Therefore,

the promises are for

the collective,

gathered congregation

as well.

Now look at verse 7,

this wonderful promise

that the peace of God

will guard you.

What's the very first word

in verse 7

in your translation?

And.

It's a conditionality.

So here are my commands

and the peace of God

will guard you.

Now look at verse 9.

That's what these two words

have in common,

these two verses

with promises.

Verse 9,

obey these commands,

think of these things,

and the God of peace

will be with you.

Church,

if we don't have

the presence of God

with us,

we cease to exist.

I mentioned in

the Old Testament

in 1 Samuel,

the greatest fear

of the people of God

was to lose

the glory of God

in their presence,

in their midst.

And the name of the child

in the Old Testament

was Ichabod,

which means the glory

of God has departed.

While God's everywhere,

this is a real warning,

a real invitation.

Practice what God

has called you to.

Stay close to Christ.

Don't take for granted

His presence.

Without Christ,

you are not a church.

You're individuals

that are saved

and He'll take care of you

somewhere else,

but for a local church,

obey these things

if you want the presence

and the peace

of God with you.

In Revelation 2,

5,

to the church in Ephesus,

which was solid in doctrine,

but had become

all about the wrong things.

Jesus Christ Himself

speaks these words.

He says,

you've taken

me for granted.

You've lost

the love

of the giver

of the good gifts.

He says,

remember therefore

from where you have fallen.

Repent

and do the works

you did at first.

If not,

I will come to you

and remove

your lampstand

from its place

unless you repent.

A lampstand represents

the presence of God

with His people

and it's the lampstand

being removed

out of the heaven

of heavens,

out of the presence

of God.

It's this congregation

no longer

enjoying that access

as a gathered people.

And to the church

in Smyrna,

it's even stronger warnings

about the church

being mixed with the world.

Revelation 2.9

Jesus says,

I know the blasphemy

of those who say

they are God's people

and are not

but are a synagogue

of Satan.

So don't mess around

with this church.

What you do

as a gathered

collective people

in the plural

together,

that's the hinge

upon which

God's promises

to a local church

depend.

So those are

the promises

in the audience.

Now what are these

important commands

that have so much

at stake?

Well the first command

is this,

God promises

His peace

to congregations

that rejoice

in the Lord.

God promises

His peace

to congregations

that rejoice

in the Lord.

He says in verse 4,

rejoice in the Lord

always.

He's already warned

them in this little letter

that many rejoice

in their own interests

instead.

Many use Christ's name

only for selfish ambition,

in Philippians 1.15

out of envy

and rivalry,

in Philippians 1.18

in pretense,

not sincerely,

Philippians 2.3

only for vain glory,

any glory

that does not go to God

is vain glory.

In Philippians 3.19

He says,

many walk

whose glory

is their shame,

who set their minds

on earthly things,

and these are enemies

of the cross.

But you, church,

rejoice in the Lord

always.

the times

when I've had

the least peace

in my own life,

my own soul,

it's when I was

not with a church

that consistently

rejoiced

in the Lord.

And our flesh

wants to pull us away

from rejoicing

in Christ,

doesn't it?

It's too easy

for churches

and for us

to rejoice

in some program,

rejoice in the success

in man's eyes,

rejoice in visible,

numeric growth.

It's too easy

to want to make sermons

or make our teaching

or our Bible study

therapeutic,

making it all about

sinful man

tickling the ear.

One of our dear brothers

here shared with me

in a town nearby

that we all know,

he's witnessed

30 churches

closing their doors,

and in every single case,

they were not rejoicing

in the Lord.

The lampstand goes out.

Now there's true believers,

there's true believers

that God will place them

somewhere else,

he'll find green pastures,

they might have to

commute a bit more,

but there's a world here

that's dark,

and churches that don't

rejoice in the Lord

become another graveyard

for the pulpit.

Paul says,

rejoice in the Lord,

and you're wanting

to say in your own mind,

when,

when do I not have to?

He says,

always,

and you're trying to think,

but what about

five,

ten years from now

when this is there?

Rejoice in the Lord,

always,

I will say again,

even if I'm dead,

the verb is

in the future tense,

I shall be declaring.

So Paul's saying,

even if my head

gets chopped off,

you can still hear

this echoing,

there's no excuse,

no conditions upon

which our church

should stop rejoicing

in the Lord.

I will say it again,

and I'll keep saying

forever,

rejoice.

Let your reasonableness

be known to everyone,

the Lord is at hand,

and the peace of God,

which surpasses

all understanding,

will guard your hearts

and your minds

in Christ Jesus.

Church,

do you want to enjoy

God's presence

with you?

Do you want to enjoy

God's presence

when you come together

in His name

every Sunday morning?

Then rejoice

in the Lord,

always.

I will say it again,

rejoice.

And you'll be reminded

of this every time

you open up

our bulletin

or liturgy,

and someone stands up here,

picks up the microphone,

and reads

when it calls to worship.

Because that's what the Bible

constantly calls

God's people to do.

Think of some that we

have used.

Psalm 95,

1 and 2.

O come,

let us sing to the Lord.

Let us shout joyfully

to the rock

of our salvation.

Let us come before

His presence

with thanksgiving.

Let us shout joyfully

to Him

with songs.

Psalm 101-3.

Make a joyful

shout to the Lord,

all you lands.

Serve the Lord

with gladness.

Come before

His presence

with singing.

Know that the Lord,

He is God.

It is He who has made us

and not we ourselves.

Let your reasonableness

be known

to everyone.

The Lord

is at hand.

Everything we do,

gathered in His name,

it's with the Lord

at hand.

If we're having

a Bible study

or a discussion

or prayer,

how can I say something

that would be out of step

with the mind of Christ

if I remember

that the Lord's at hand?

When we're singing,

when we're praying,

when we're doing our best

to disciple our children

and the flesh

or the pride

wants to creep in

and distort it,

the Lord is at hand.

We minister to one another

in that way.

And by remembering

that the Lord is with us,

His people,

we will be reasonable

with the help of His Spirit.

We will be gentle.

We will do it in such a way

that brings Him glory.

So Reformed Heritage Church

specifically

has one very small

little lampstand

in the courtroom of heaven.

Let us pray.

Let us sing.

Let us listen.

May we talk and eat

and fellowship and serve

knowing that the Lord

is at hand with us

together as His gathered people.

And then we can

be such a church

that knows with confidence

these promises are for us too.

The peace of God

which passes all understanding

will guard us.

So we don't live anxious

or fearful about the future

even of this one

little congregation.

We trust this promise.

We are rejoicing in the Lord

by His grace

with His help.

And we're not afraid.

We're not anxious.

He's guarding us together.

To guard in this way

in verse 7.

He will guard your hearts

and your minds.

It means to garrison.

It's like an ancient citadel.

A walled castle.

The banner over this,

if you make it through the gates,

the bridge comes down.

You make it inside.

The banner over us

is the peace of God.

And as the world

mounts all around it

and shakes and shoots,

we're under siege.

They're baffled

because this little outpost

of the kingdom of heaven

is unrattled.

It's beyond understanding.

It's Christ

guarding His church

with His peace.

Well, God promises also

His peace to churches

that bring their requests

to Him

in thankful prayer.

God promises His peace

to churches

that bring their requests

to Him

in thankful prayer.

It's good for us

as a church

to have requests.

What are the requests

that we all share

that would be the requests

of this congregation?

And it's good for us

to discuss that.

Learn from one another.

Let the burdens

that God has put

on the hearts

of a gathered congregation

become our shared burdens.

That's important.

We ought to have

shared requests

that we bring

before the Lord.

But we should not be anxious

about those things.

That's what Jesus

came to preach.

God the Father

loves you.

In Matthew 6,

Jesus said,

Therefore do not be anxious

about tomorrow,

for it will be anxious

for itself.

Sufficient for the day

is its own trouble.

Seek first the kingdom

of God

and His righteousness

and all these things

will be added unto you

because the Father

loves you.

Paul says,

So in everything,

by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving,

let your requests

be made known to God.

Yes, God knows all,

but He's a loving Father.

He wants you

to make your requests known

when you're together

gathered in His name.

Then the peace of God,

who surpasses all understanding,

will minister to you.

Isn't it true

you've been most settled,

most at peace

before the Lord

and with your family,

your loved ones,

when you're with a church

that prays in such a way,

when you're with God's people

gathered in His name,

and you know

the Father loves us.

We comfort one another

by praying this way.

It's that simple

childlike faith

depending on the love

of my Father in Heaven.

Polycarp,

a very, very early

saved sinner,

hero of the faith,

he ministered to the church

this way.

He said,

Don't worry,

just pray.

I love how simple it is.

And it's also

very deep,

very true.

Because the Lord

is near you,

church,

pray.

His Spirit

is so close to you.

Every need

that comes to you

through your body,

through this fallen world,

it reminds you

you need your Savior,

and He's near to you.

So those things

don't become the problem

to get out of anymore.

They become God's

gracious,

gentle shepherd's rod,

bringing you back

to lie down

in the presence

of your good shepherd.

And He says,

by prayer

and supplication,

let your requests

be made known

to God.

How do we pray

to a triune God?

What is it

that Scripture reveals

about Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit?

And how we,

His people,

get to be part of that

and commune with Him?

Every time we pray,

we are practicing

the presence

of the triune God

with His people.

Every time we pray,

we are communing

as a human being,

body and soul,

with our Creator.

How do we pray

to our triune God?

This little book

by Fred Sanders

on the Trinity

was so helpful

to me this week.

And that's what I want

to try to briefly

summarize for us.

How to pray

as a church.

We pray following

the order

of our redemption.

God is a God

of order

and His own Word

gives us

the order

by which He redeems us

through Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit.

God.

So here are the three

persons of the one God.

Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit.

Now, the New Testament,

God's full and final revelation,

gives us helpful words

to explain the order

among Father,

Son, and Holy Spirit

being one God.

Let me give you

this illustration.

If I wanted to tell you

about my car,

the Eisenhower Tunnel,

and the Western Slope,

those are three different things

I want to tell you about.

I'm going to use

these other words

to show how they're related

one to another.

I think they're called

prepositions.

I could say I came

from the Western Slope

through the tunnel

in my car.

Those three words

are a helpful way

for us to understand

how the Triune God

redeemed us

and then walking it

back the other direction,

how we pray

to a Triune God.

from God the Father

through God the Son

in God the Holy Spirit.

That's how we pray.

Let me try to show you

this from Scripture.

1 Corinthians 8.6

tells us that salvation

and life

are from God the Father.

This passage says,

there is one God,

the Father,

from whom are all things

and for whom we exist.

We also read in Scripture

the same passage,

salvation and life

are through God the Son.

In 1 Corinthians 8.6,

Paul writes,

there is one Lord,

Jesus Christ,

through whom all things

were made

and through whom

we exist.

And then salvation and life

are in God the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12.3 says,

no one can say,

Jesus is my Lord

except in the Holy Spirit.

How?

1 Corinthians 6.11,

after telling the church,

you were all

the worst kinds of sinners,

such were some of you,

but you were washed,

you were sanctified,

you were justified

in the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ

by the Spirit

of our God.

So God redeems us

from the Father,

through the Son,

in the Holy Spirit.

since life and salvation

are from God the Father,

we ought to pray

to God the Father.

Luke 11.2,

Jesus taught His disciples that.

He said,

when you pray,

pray like this,

our Father

who is in heaven.

We address it to

God the Father.

Our Father

who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done

on earth as it is

in heaven.

So we pray to God the Father.

Now salvation and life

are through God the Son,

and so we pray

through God the Son,

Jesus Christ.

John 14.13,

Jesus said,

ask in my name

that the Father

may be glorified

in the Son.

And we ought to

then enjoy life

in God

through the Spirit.

And so we pray

in the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 6.18,

we're told this,

pray in the Spirit

at all times

with all kinds

of prayers

and requests.

And Romans 8.26 says,

the Spirit helps us

in our weakness

for when we do not

know what to pray

as we ought,

the Spirit Himself

intercedes for us.

So that's how we pray

as a gathered congregation.

We practice this

on our own as well.

We pray,

going back

the opposite direction,

in the Holy Spirit.

By His power

working in His people,

we pray through

God the Son,

Jesus Christ.

And we pray

to the Father.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses

all understanding,

will guard your hearts

and your minds

in Christ Jesus.

So God promises

His peace

to churches

that bring their requests

to Him

in thankful prayer.

that practice

pondering

the praiseworthy one.

God promises

to be Himself,

His very presence

with churches

that practice

pondering Him,

the only praiseworthy one.

Would you look with me

at verse 8?

He says,

finally, brethren,

or could be translated

for the rest,

brothers and sisters,

or beyond that.

Here's what else

I want to add.

I want to conclude

with this,

He says.

Whatever is true,

whatever is honorable,

whatever is just,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is commendable,

if there is any virtue,

if there is anything

worthy of praise,

think about these things.

Well, knowing that

the audience

is the whole church,

the collective

gathered congregation,

I think we can conclude this.

Our thought life

as a gathered church

strengthens

our thought life

as a scattered church.

It's downstream.

How we think

individually scattered out

in the world,

stuck into this

decaying carcass

of this fallen world,

it will be

directly strengthened

by what we ponder.

The more excellent,

the more praiseworthy

is our time

when we're gathered together,

the more strength

each of us will have

as God scatters us

back out

into His mission field.

What we uphold,

what we discuss,

what we meditate

on together,

this is what God uses

to guard our thoughts

and our hearts

when we're not together,

to meditate on

means to deliberate,

evaluate,

compute,

ponder over

and over and over again.

And He wants the church

together to uphold

only that which is excellent

and praiseworthy,

what is true,

good,

and pure.

He uses the word

virtuous

among others

to describe

what it is

the church

ought to give

their thoughts to.

The word virtuous

in 1 Peter 2.9

is used to describe

God Himself,

the only perfectly

virtuous One.

We are to proclaim

the virtue

or the excellencies

of God

who called you

out of darkness

into His marvelous

light.

And this is one

of the only other places

the word virtue

is used in this sense.

2 Peter 1.3

teaches

that God's divine power

has granted

to us

all things

that pertain

to life

and godliness

through the knowledge

of Him

who called us

to His glory

and His excellence,

His virtuousness.

And it's only

by His

divine power.

So I think

there are a lot

of applications

for this truth,

but here's what

I want to draw out

for us today

in light of this passage.

Every one

of these

noble things

that we ought

to give

our thoughts

to,

it ought to begin

with the thought

of God Himself

as the supreme

good behind each

one.

And then

we think rightly

about God,

we're free

to go into the world

and think rightly

about other

expressions or

reflections of God

Himself

that we see.

So for example,

He lists truth,

nobility,

justice,

purity,

loveliness,

what is commendable,

virtuous,

and praiseworthy.

When we're gathered

as His church,

it's like the

Scripture reveals

by the help

of the Spirit,

God Himself,

His attributes,

His glory,

His essence,

and that's what

elevates the thoughts

of the church.

It's thinking of

God Himself,

the only praiseworthy

one,

the only virtuous

one.

But then when we go

back into the world,

He does help

each one of you

in different ways,

in different fields.

Students,

you'll see all of these

maybe in one day

in class,

in your different subjects.

You'll see truth.

You'll see nobility.

You'll see justice,

purity,

loveliness.

You'll see examples,

even in fallen sinners,

of something commendable,

something worthy of praise.

But it begins with

the elevated thoughts

of His people

as a church

on God Himself.

Only then will we

rightly read

and interpret

what we see reflected

in His creation.

In verse 9,

He says,

what you have learned

and received

and heard

and seen in me,

practice these things.

To have learned something,

it carries with it

the two meanings.

One is a clear understanding

and number two,

it's learning

by habitual practice.

Paul emphasizes both.

He says,

what you have seen

and witnessed

and understood

and soaked up,

now go practice

these things.

Practice what you have seen.

Have you seen

when you gather

with God's people

that God is praiseworthy?

Have you seen

how God is patient

and pure and good

and He alone

should be called good?

Have you seen

how Jesus is the way,

the truth,

and the life?

And how it does

truly transform

the lives of your

brothers and sisters

as they go back

into the world?

Think about these things.

Practice what you have

pondered here

with God's people.

Psalm 145.3 says,

great is the Lord

and most worthy

of praise.

His greatness

no one can fathom.

A fathom is a measurement

in the depths of the ocean.

So be with God's people

wondering,

fathoming

how good

and how praiseworthy

He is.

And practice that

throughout the week

when you're scattered.

And this glorious promise

that the God of peace

will be with you.

The peace of God

with His church

brings refreshing

from His presence.

But the God of peace

as His people gather

and proclaim Him

in a hostile world,

it's a language

of victory.

You don't get to raise

the white flag

of peace

in a war

until the victory

is secured.

You know this familiar

Bible verse.

Who is it

that God promises

will soon crush Satan

underneath your feet?

It's the God

of peace.

Peace

for victory.

He will do this.

My favorite fort,

I've only visited a couple

so it's not

a big scale

to choose from,

but I'm so,

I'm so mesmerized

by a fort

right on the waterfront

in Baltimore,

Maryland.

It's really cool

because of the shape

of this fort.

It's like buildings

in the shape

of a pentagon,

like a stop sign.

And then the fort itself

has these little mounds

with grass on top

and those form

basically a star

around the pentagon

and then each

of the points

of the star

has like a cool

spear shape

and you can go

in the tunnels

all underneath it

or climb on top

and looking down

you see these big cannons

firing out

against the water.

As some of you

know already

Fort McHenry

is the site

in the war of 1812

from where we get

the star-spangled banner.

That flag,

the victory,

it's still waving.

The war is over

and it's the God

of peace

with His people

inside the fort.

He's crushing

the enemy

under your feet.

You're part of this.

It's His cannons

that are firing off.

It's His gospel

that's being proclaimed

and His flag,

His banner

over His people

of peace.

It's not going

to be gone

because He is victorious.

He wins the battle.

He is with us

in His citadel,

the kingdom of heaven.

and His peace

guards us.

We're secure in Him.

He will crush

His enemy.

All things are being

brought under the feet

of King Jesus

on His throne in heaven

and He's doing this

through the humble,

self-sacrificing,

foolish means

of the cross

proclaimed

through His church,

through His people.

So Reformed Heritage Church,

may we never stop

rejoicing in the Lord.

may we never stop

encouraging and reminding

one another

we have pardon

for sin

and a peace

that endureth.

May we enjoy forever,

as long as we have

days on this earth,

God's own dear presence

with us

to cheer

and to guide.

Strength for today

and bright hope

for tomorrow.

Blessings all ours

in Christ

with 10,000 beside.

Let's pray.

Oh Lord,

thank you for these promises

that you will be

with your people

and you will give

your people

your peace.

Please teach us

to practice your presence,

especially when we're

gathered on the Lord's Day

in a worship service

like this, Lord,

and may that be

the strength

that we need

to march out

your kingdom orders

as you scatter us

to different places

throughout the week,

trusting that

according to your will

you'll continue

gathering people

in your name.

You will never

abandon your church.

Lo, you are with us

always,

even to the end

of the age.

Amen.