All Glory To God (Psalm 66)

Well, good morning. It's good to see you. Glad you're

worshiping with us this morning. Psalm sixty six. This morning,

if your turn, your bible is there. We're in our

series through Psalms, and I tell you as we prepare,

we do this almost every year, and as I prepare

through just the coming months, actually preparing for this, I

was reading through the Psalms and I had a little

note and as I was kind of reading through, I

just write down a few Psalms that God just kind

of spoke to my heart. And one Thursday I was

reading and I was reading Psalm sixty six, and as

I read it, I thought of the song Shout to

the Lord. And so that Thursday morning I just wrote

that I thought this would be a great song to do.

Never preached it before. It's a beautiful palm. I wrote

it my note, put it on my little plan for

this series. But like I said, I put that song

Shout to the Lord beside it, thinking that would be

a good song for it. Not didn't tell anybody. It

was just something in my preparation. That was Thursday, that

Sunday morning. This was probably three or four weeks ago.

Tanner was leading and they were preparing for that Sunday

and they sang shout to the Lord, and I knew

then we had not talked, and I said, it was

the very Sunday of the week of my preparation. I

told Tanner, I said, there is no doubt in my mind.

God is leading us to do this song. So kind

of give you a little behind the scenes and how

things God leads us to passages. So I say in

confidence today as I stand before you, I really believe

this is the passage that God has for us this morning,

and I pray that our hearts will be open to

listen to what He has for us. Psalm sixty six

is a beautiful passage of scripture. It's really a call.

It's an invitation for us to praise the Lord, to

inviting us to give God glory. This past week I

went to the doctor, went to a new doctor I

had not been before and visited it. It was just

for a kind of a check on the issue that

I'm kind of battling with my back. So I saw

orthopedic doctor. And you know, it's interesting, like, within twenty

four hours of seeing that orthopedic doctor I've not seen,

I got a text message, and I was like, what

is this from the doctor? And it was the doctor's

office asking for me, just within twenty four hours of

seeing that doctor for the first time, to give a review.

And I was like, I've only seen you one time.

You know, it's very short. You know, it's hard for

me to give a review. But it's interesting they were

calling me and they are texting me, and they're wanting

me to go on their website or Google page or

whatever it may be and give them a review. Now,

if you think about a review for a minute, if

we're going to give a review online, social media, whatever

it may be, what we're doing is we're evaluating what

service we were provided and whether that doctor did something

good for us or whether we were pleased or not

please right, And this text message from this doctor's office

was asking me to leave a good review, hoping that

the doctor had done something good for me. But you know,

we have we like by the way, we like to

give praise and we like to give reviews. Ever things

that we like sometimes we posted on social media as

that times with personal Google maps or whatever it may be.

We like to give praise when something's good for us,

and so we experience something that's been good, whether it's

a meal or whatever it may be. As this passage,

it's kind of the same idea here this passage is

it's just like the Daughter's office reached out to me

and asked me to give a review for this doctor.

This passage is calling all of us. It's actually not

calling just all of us. It's calling all the earth

to give glory to God. It's saying God has done

something for all the earth, and as a result, the

earth should give glory to God to declare that God

is good. And so that is the kind of the

heart behind this passage scripture. It's a some calling for

all to give God glory. The Psalm kind of works

from Psalm sixty six. It kind of works on kind

of a large scale, and then that kind of works

down to the even on the smaller scale. If you

look with me in this passage, you'll see at the beginning,

it starts with the whole earth, all the earth is

to give God glory. Then it goes to God's people,

the Israel is to give God glory, and then at

the very end it gives how an individual is to

give God glory. There was a there was a writer

who wrote symphonies, and he wrote a symphony called called

the forty five and f sharp Minor. It's known as

the Pharewell Symphony. In this symphony France, Joseph Hayden wrote

this piece, and in this symphony it's called the Pharawell

Symphony because as the piece begins, it starts with the

whole orchestra starting the piece. But as the song continues,

slowly different parts of the orchestra leave the orchestration, and

that the very end of the song there's only two

violinists playing. That's kind of the image of this song.

It starts with the whole earth is giving God glory,

and then it goes down to just God's people, and

then it goes down at the very end to just

one individual giving God glory. Look through this psalm, this

psalm is showing us kind of the how and why

the you're the church and we as individuals should give

God glory. So I ask you today as we come

to start this pastor scripture, we love to give good

reviews of things that we enjoy. This coming week, we

might we might do a review of a business for

something they've done for us. We might give our neighbors

glory for their nice Christmas decorations. We might give our

friends encouragement for or we give them encouragement for how

they've treated us and the nice things they've done for us.

We might give our families glory this week for the

good food that they may fix, or maybe the family

meeting today. We give glory to a lot of different things.

How do you give God glory? The doctor's requested me

to give a good review to them today. God is

calling us to give him glory for what he's done

for us. Let's consider how and why we should give

God glory? Well God. This is long passages, twenty verses,

so we can kind of break it up in pieces.

But let's begin and let's see how the earth gives

God glory. We stand with me and let's read passes

together a Psalm sixty six. We're starting verse one and

we through seven, and then we'll pick up the other

sections as we go. It says this, listen to the word,

Listen to the earth. This is the imagery the earth

is giving God glory. It begins, shout for joy to God.

Listen to this, all the earth sing the glory of

His name. Give to him glorious praise. Say to God,

how awesome are your deeds. So great is your power

that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth

worships you, and it sings praises to you. They sing

praises to your name. Selah, Come and see what God

has done his awesome. He is awesome in his deeds

toward the children of man. He turned the sea into

dry land, and they passed through the river on foot.

There we rejoiced in Him who rules by his mighty forever,

whose eyes keep watch on the nations. Let not the

rebellious exalt themselves. Seelah. Let's pray together, Father, God, you

invite us to give you praise, to give you glory. Lord.

I pray today that we give glory to so many

different things, But God, you deserve glory Lord for what

you've done for us. So Lord, I pray that the

psalm that you lead us through the day would lead

us individually corporately as a church, and Lord, that we

would give you glory Lord for what you've done and why,

and teach us how Lord, we are to give you glory.

So Lord, may you use this passage to speak to

our hearts, as individuals, as a church body. Lord, I

believe today that this is a passage you've led us to. Lord,

for these that are here, who are watching, who are

in person, who are watching online or on TV. Lord,

may you use your word today to speak to us.

And Lord, may you open up our hearts and our

minds to understand Lord your word. May your spirit lead

us givict our hearts. And Lord, may we surrender Lord

to the movement of your spirit today. Lord, I pray

that you would speak through me today. Lord, I am falling.

I'm a broken man. Lord. I recognize today that my

preparation and the things that I do or are void

without your spirit's power. So God, may you speak now.

May I decrease, May you increase. Lord, May your words

be spoken today? And then we pray, Amen, you may

be seated. So how and why the earth, the Church

and we as individuals should give God glory? First, the

earth glorifies God. The passage begins by kind of describing

again to who and why and how if the earth

gives God glory, kind of begins at the very beginning

here of the who, the who is all the earth.

Look at the verse shout to the Lord, shout for

the joy of God. Listen to this all the earth.

The Sawmist begins by describing the whole earth. This is

the whole earth. Here is is everyone. It's the entire country,

the entire nation, the entire world called to give God glory.

You notice this is believers. In verse four, all the

earth worships you and sing praises to you. This all

the earth. That means believers, unbelievers, everyone on the earth

are called to give Him praise. It they're called to

worship him. But it's not just believers, it's also unbelievers.

You look at the verse three. It says, say to God,

how awesome are your deeds? So great is your power

that your enemies come cringing to you. So this passage

of scripture, if you think about the entire world, the

entire population of our entire earth, if you thought about

the whole earth coming together and giving God praise, you

would know that there would be those who would give

God praise. Some who worship Christ followers, and there's many

who are not Christ, Christ followers, right believers. But the

earth here says all should even gives to the picture

that all will that his enemies. God's enemies will come

cringing to him, and that they will bow down and

worship him. You. Verse four is the imagery here is

bowing down. All the earth worships you the word worship.

There is bowing down. Is all the earth is called

to worship the Lord, to witness the work of the Lord.

You know, you understand. Here is kind of who? And

that is all. And then the question is why why

does all the earth should give God glory? Well, scripture

describes the earth is to give him glory three verse three,

but says to God, how awesome are your deeds? Why

is all the earth to give God glory? Is because

of what God has done? How powerful God is? And verses.

As you continue reading verses five through seven, the Psalmas

gives testimony of something God has done. Something God did

in the early part of the Old Testament that demonstrated

all to the earth of God's awesome deeds. What was it?

It was Israel, the nation of Israel being delivered from

Egyptian captivity and crossing over the Red Sea. Listen to

the testimony. In verse five through seven says, come and

see what God has done. What God has done he's

going to describe that He is awesome in his deeds

toward the children of men. He turned the sea into

dry land, and they passed through the river on foot.

There we rejoiced in him who rules by his might forever,

whose eyes keep watch on the nations. Let not the

rebellious exalt themselves. You know, Scripture tells us as you

walk through the Old Testament and you read the Exodus,

that when the Lord rescued his people from Egyptian captivity,

and they crossed over the Red Sea, all the earth

saw it. All the nations around Israel saw the mighty

power of God. And there God's people as they crossed

over the Red Sea, and God delivered Israel from their enemies.

And in that the Egyptians came in, you remember, in

the water collapsed over them. When God defeated God's People's

Israel's enemies, the whole earth saw God's power, how he

delivered his people, and how he judged his enemies. We

see that as you read through the Old Testament, the

earth saw the power of God and they gave him praise.

You could think about this as we see in our

world over the last few years, we see the power

of God. Right, we see God moving in many different

ways and bringing things upon our earth. And many times

you'll see right after natural disaster's right, you'll see after COVID,

you'll see that the whole all the earth saw that

what devastation nature, that sickness can do upon humankind. And

you would see people kind of drawing near, trying to

follow this figure out who God is because of God's

great power that even disease can sweep over a whole nation.

But some people might come with fear. But it doesn't

mean that they will all praise him, will they that?

You know that all the people of who saw gods

bring judgment upon those on the Red Sea, they feared God,

they feared his power. It didn't mean they're all worship him, right,

And that's the imagery of this passage. They're all called,

but not all worship the Lord. Want you see how

are they to give God worshiping this pastor scripture? Listen

to this the different imagery here it says, shout for

joy to God, all the earth, sing glory to his name,

Give him, praise to his glorious name. Say to God,

how awesome are your deeds? So you walk through these

past scriptures kind of three different ways. We are called

to give God glory versus. It gives this imagery of

shouting with joy. So this imagery of singing, just like

we've done just a minute ago, we sang. We to

give God glory through singing. Through shouting. We are to

give God praise through declaring. Look at this verse that says,

shout to the Lord, all the earth, sing to his

glorious name, give him glorious praise. But look at verse three.

This is declaring, say to God, how awesome are your deeds.

So we are to give God glory through singing. We

are to give God glory by declaring. But all we

sing and we declare, we also give God glory bowing down.

In verse four, it says all the earth worships you.

I said a minute ago that word worship in the

Greek is a bowing down, So bowing down to worship.

It gives imagery of Philippians too, where it says at

the name of Jesus, every nie shall bow and every

tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ's Lord. Calling of this

that we are to give God glory. But notice this

as how we are to do this. We are to

do this through singing, through declaring, by bowing down. But

what's the purpose. We are to give him glory? Right?

You noticed that in this call, this invitation for us

to give glory, all the earth to give glory. It's

the purpose is to give God something? Right? How do

we do that? We do that through singing, we do

that through declaring, we do that through bowing down. But

the focus is God, God, you, I give you something

because of what you have done and how powerful you are.

And I've seen that at work in my life, you know.

I just as I've been in ministry for many many

years and throughout just the history of being a pastor,

and for many many years, I've seen people come and

go through different churches. And it's amazing that I remember

one time we had someone come to our church and

they visited and they after the end of the service,

they came and just as we love the service and

really enjoyed it, the sermon was great, and the individual says,

you know, I believe that I was really struggling with

something and I came this Sunday. It was my first

time ever being here, and I believe that sermon was

exactly for me. This is directly out of the words

that an individual, but I won't be back. What do you

mean you won't be back? Well, y'all didn't do enough

hymns here, and because you didn't do enough hymns and

it just not my stuff, I won't be back. Okay,

that's it to each his own right. Another individual came

to our church the same thing. They they they went,

They came to me later on and says, you know what,

we just won't be attending. But that's because y'all don't

do enough contemporary music. You know, sermons are okay, and

they like the service, but you just you don't do

enough contemporary music. So just hear me. There, you got

two different individuals, one who say we don't do enough

hymns and so they're not gonna come. And then you've

got one who says we're not gonna come because you

don't do enough contemporary music. You understand, though, if you

think about both of them, what are they saying? Both

of them saying worship? Right, it's not about what I give,

but what I receive worship and when I when I

want to worship the Lord, it's about whether I like

the style of music and whether this and many times

as we think about worship, we think about what we're

getting out of worship. For the Psalmas, the call for

you and I to give God worship is not about

what we feel. It's not about what our preference is

in the stylistic of music. Our worship is all about

what we give to God. It says nothing in Psalm

sixty six about whether it's a hymn or where there's

contemporary music. It's all about the heart of the individual

saying God, I want to give something to you, God,

because of how awesome and how powerful you are, because

of the things that I've seen you do in this life. God,

because I see the power of your hand and how

you can move history, how you can bring judgment upon

the entire earth. God, how you can deliver me in

the midst of the judgment. God, I want to give

you glory. And God is not about whether I feel

it or whether I like it, or whether I want

the preferences. God is about giving back to You. And

as this Psalm calls it, it caused the whole earth

to give God glory. Ask you today as you think

about when you sing, when you give praise to God

through singing. When you give praise through God by shouting,

when you bow down to the Lord you do, you

do that because of God's great power and what He's

done for you. When you sing? Are you what's the

focus of your worship? Is it about what you receiver?

Is it about God? What can I give back to you?

I encourage you today that you and I are Our

heart should be aligned with the God's word that says God,

me giving you glory is not about me. It's about God.

What I can give to you because what you've done

for me. Once you see how and why the earth

and Church and we as individuals give glorious the earth

glorifies God. Secondly, once you see how the church glorifies

God in testing. Let's look at the passage of Scripture.

Here the Bible says, bless our God, all people's let

the sound of his praise be heard. He who has

kept our soul from among the living, who has not

let our feet slipt For you, Old God, have tested us.

You have tried us as silver has tried. You've brought us,

I mean brought us into the net, and you laid

a crushing burden on our backs. You let men right

over our heads, and we went through the fire and

through the water. Yet you have brought us out of

a place of abundance. I will come into your house

with burnt offerings. I will perform my vows to you.

In this passage. You look at verse eight. You see

the shift. You see all the earth in one through

seven and eight you see a shift to Now just

God's people, This is just believers here. This is Israel,

the nation visual and the nation of Israel is crying

out there, giving God glorious, calling them. Listen to what says,

bless our God, o peoples. Listen to the imagery there,

let the sound of His praise be heard. Just this Friday,

I went to our BCA, our crusaders here our school

had a varsity or a basketball game. And so I

went to the gym or car the street the ruleten

where we share. The Ruleton Club partners with us and

allow us to have our games there. And and we

were there, and it was a great game, and it

was intense and and and people cheering. The stands were full.

And I noticed that as people are cheering, and I

gotta learn on my watch, I look down into my watch.

It alerts me when it's too loud, and it was

saying above ninety decibels is where I was, and hearing

just that little gem there with that many people everybody shouting,

it was the volume was so loud, and that was

just I don't know how many hundred people were more there.

Imagine in the Dean Doom there's twenty thousand people declaring

praise to the tar hills. Some days maybe on all

every day is like yesterday, but I imagine this. But

in this passage, it's one million Jews gathered together, declaring

blessing God together. And and I want you to understand,

what are they blessing Him for? What are they praising

God for? What are the things you praise God? You

give glory for something that He's done. What are they

giving God glory? Why are they praising? Look at what

the passage says, here's why they praise him, who has

kept our soul from among the living, who's not let

our feet slip. And this passage scripture, he's praising God.

He's saying, God, we praise you because you you've kept

our soul, You've not let our feet slip. And then

it describes what was the issue? While were they about

to stumble, if you will, while we what was about

to happen to their soul? And in this passage scripture

he describes it the psalmus. For you, old God, have

tested us. You've tried us as silver has tried. You

brought us into the net, and you laid a crushing

burden on our backs. You let men right over our heads,

and we went through the fire and through the water.

Yet you've brought us out of a place of abundance.

What was it that they were facing? What was the

turmoil that they were going through? It was the testing

of God. In this passage, if you think about it again,

all the earth is called to give God glory because

his mighty power and how he delivers and how he judges.

Now God's people give God glory, why because of his testing.

When was the last time you came into the church

service and you said, God today, I want to give

you glory for how you're testing me. It's not something

we do, is it. God's people were called in this

passage to give him praise for his testing. The testing

here is being tried as silver is tried. If you remember,

if you know anything about how silver is tried. Silver

is put to the fire and it's heated up and

it's melted, and when it's melted, the impurities come to

the top, and saying, God, you're putting us through the fire,

and things are so hot. Now that God, you're bringing

up things in my life, and it's intense. The testing

is described as being caught with the net, being trapped,

testing to describe as a crushing burden, laying on their backs,

testing and described as men writing over their heads. It's

the imagery of being defeated by their enemies. Now notice

one thousand believers or Israel declaring in unison, God, thank

you for testing, Thank you for the fire in my life.

Thank you for me being trapped, thank you for me

feeling going through the testing of being defeated. God, thank

you for the burdens that God You've placed on my life.

And today they give him praise that through all the testing,

through all the trials, through the fire, through the burdens,

What is it, God? I praise you that God that

you're testing me. But God, in the midst of the testing,

you're sustaining me. God, my foot has not slept. You've

kept my soul. So it's thinking about this pastor scriptures

need just beautiful how God works out things. And I

was reading just this week in Deuteronomy. If you know

anything about Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy is Moses, they people of visual

had crossed over the Red Sea, and as you know,

they went into the wilderness, and in the wilderness, they

were in the wilderness for forty years. And after forty

years of being in the wilderness, they go into the

Promised Land. Deuteronomy is Moses here, they've been in the

wilderness for forty years. They're about to go in the

Promised Land. And Deuteronomy, the whole book of Deuteronomy is

Moses preparing God's people to go into the Promised Land.

So it's kind of like the preparation Manual. Okay, just

before you go into promised Land. This is how this

is how you're to operate as a nation of God's people.

That's what the Book of Deuteronomy is all about. So

as in Deuteronomy chapter eight, as Moses is trying to

prepare them to go into promised lands, he commands them

when you go to when you begin begin, when you

start to be God's people and you're in the Promised Land.

It's so so very important that you obey God's commands.

And then by commanding them to obey God's commands, he

reminds them of testing. Won't you see this passages at

Deuteronomy eight one through six. Again, he's preparing them to

go to Promise Land, and then he prepares them by

commanding them to obey God's commands or God's word, and

then he reminds them of testing. That's what it says

the whole command I've commanded you today, that you shall

be careful to do that you may live and multiply,

and go in and possess the land that Lord's wor

to you to give your fathers. And you shall remember

the whole way that Lord has led you these forty

years in the wilderness, that he might humble you. Listen

to this testing to know what was in your heart,

whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you,

He let you hunger, and he fed you with man,

which you did not know, nor did your fathers know

that he might mate known you. That man does not

live off bread alone, but that man lives by every

word that comes from the mouth of the Lord, your

clothing did not wear out on you. Your foot did

not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart

that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord

disciplines you. So that so you shall keep the commandments

of the Lord your God, by walking in his way,

by fearing him. This passage of scripture, I believe what

he's referring to in Deuteronomy eight. I mean in Psalm

sixty eighty six, is God testing him in the wilderness.

Moses says, listen, hey, as you're going into the promised land,

don't forget. Don't forget that in those forty years God

tested you. How did God test you? He says, God,

let you be hungry that you might listen live off

the word of the Lord. Can I ask you today,

if you think about where you are today, do you

praise God for testing today? Some of you might be

facing testing today in the midst of right where you

are today, have you thought of today, Lord, you might

be testing me. Why did scriptures say in Deuteronomy ate

that God tested his people that he might know what

was in their hearts? Have you considered today that right

now what you're facing maybe it is defeast maybe it

is a burden. Maybe it maybe feel like you're walking

through a fire. Maybe it feel like today the enemies

are running over your heads today. In the midst of that,

have you considered that God might be testing you, that

he might know what's in your heart and in the

midst of what you're facing today, that he's seeing whether

you obey his word or whether you or not. The

people of visual God tested them so he would know

what was in their heart and that they might obey

His word. But I love this beautiful passage scripture. What

does he say, but God, in those forty years, our

clothes did not run out and our feet did not slip.

I ask you today, how was God testing you? Do

you praise God for testing? Do you praise that God

sustains you? So I was thinking about this, I was

thinking about the application of this is the Israel giving

God glory for testing? And I thought to us, how's

this supplied to Bethesda somebody believers? How's God testing us?

I think for me, as I've thought about this just

as your pastor one of the things that I feel

like over the last eight years here, that's one of

been the biggest test that we have faced as a

church's financial test. When I came here over eight years ago,

we were budgeting a loss for the year and we

really weren't sure how much money would have left over

because we have very little in savings. The financial outlook

of the church just in a year's time was very,

very bleak, and just really through over the last eight years,

things not changed very much. It seems like year after

year there's been some type of financial crisis. Sixteen sixty

thousand dollars, chiller thirty thousand dollars, roofs, one hundred thousand dollars,

renovation projects, sixty to twenty to sixty thousand dollars, HVAC

repairs and replacements, and year after year. I always say pastoring,

but ASDA is like pastoring on financial thin ice. We're

just waiting for like it's something not going to break,

it's something going to break and it's going to create

some type of crisis. Even just this year we had major,

major HVAC and we're right now in the negative. If

you guys are doing finite fantastic on giving, but our

expenses are way over this year again. And I'm gonna

be honest with you as your pastor. It's a burden

on me as the pastor. You want to make sure

your church has what it needs to do the ministry.

And I wait, I carry that burden. I've carried it

for eight years. And as I've thought about this pastor's scripture,

I really feel like Lord, Saint Jonathan, I'm testing Bethesta

to see if Bethesta or trust in me that they

will have what they need. Deuteronomy six says I mean.

Deuteronomy eight says this. Listen, your clothing did not wear

out on you, and your foot did not swell these

forty years. I gave you just what you need. But

that'sta and this seizing of testing. Trust me, He's telling

me today, as your pastor trusts me, I will provide

for you. Trust me. But I tell you, we as

a church need to give God praise for testing. And

I wonder, just as I today, we as a church

need to praise God for his testing. We need to

praise God for his refining. We need to praise God

for his sustaining work. But I wonder too, for you, individually, believer,

what is God testing you today? How is He testing

you by fire? Or maybe feeling like you're trapped in

circumstances of your health or relationship or a job, or

are you feeling defeated today or do you have a

crushing burden? Do you recognize God is testing you to

see see what today, what's in your heart, and whether

you're trusting, whether you trust that He will sustain you

today in the midst of the testing, will you give

him glory? Once you see lastliness? Passive scripture will see

the individuals the individual here, who and why the individual

should give God glory. The earth glorifies God, the church

glorifies God and testing, but the individual glorifies God in righteousness.

Let's read the passage. In verse thirteen. It says, I

will come into your house with burnt offerings. I will

perform my vows to you. That was my lips uttered,

I my mouth promised when I was in trouble. I

will offer to you burn offerings of fat and animals,

with smoke of sacrifice and of rams. I will make

my offering of bulls and goats. Selah, Come and hear

all who fear God, and I will tell you what

he has done for my soul. I crowd to him

with my mouth, and he and high praise was on

my tongue. And if I cheers iniquity in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened.

He is attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed

be God, because He's not rejected my prayer or removed

his steadfast love from me. Again, it goes from the

earth giving God glory to the Church giving God glory

first and testing, and lastly, it's this picture of this

individual who glorifies God, and he he glorifies God. And

righteousness here gives this imagery of this individual, and it

describes him how he gives God glory and the giving

God glory here is in right worship. He describes how

his worship is right and and that would be a

term we would use righteousness. Listen to how he describes

how he gives right worship. He gives right worship in

two ways, one in his obedience and verse thirteen through

fifteen he describes his obedience. He keeps his vows. I

will come into your house with burnt offerings, and I

will perform my vows to you. This is the imagery

that God, I've made commitments to you. I've made vows

to you God that I would live my life for

you and God. My right worship is is my obedience

to perform those vowels, to keep those commitments I made

to you. Also, he commits he obeys God's commands. Part

of God's command was sacrifices and giving sacrifices, and the

Psalmist describes him not keeping his vowels but also keeping

his sacrifice in God's word. When it comes to sacrifices,

that which my lips uttered, my mouth promised to you

when I was in trouble. But in verse fifteen, I

will offer to you burnt offerings and fat and animals,

and with the smoke of sacrifices around, I will make

an offering of bulls and goads. He describes God, I

give right worship, and I give you glory by by

worshiping you rightly through being, through a life of obedience,

obeying your word, a baying, and keeping my covenant somebody

vows to you. But also he describes his right worship

not in his obedience, but also in his holiness. In

verse sixteen through eighteen, he talks about his upright heart.

It's not just the obedience he does but his heart

is right with God. He says, Come and hear all

who fear God, and I will tell you what to soul,

what He's done for my soul. I crowded him with

my mouth, and how it praise us on my tongue.

And listen to this. If I cherish iniquity in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened, he says. My heart

was clear before the Lord. He did not cheerish sin.

His heart was right. He had right worship. You understand

as you give worship, as you come to Lord and

worship that it's not important that we give God glory

as all the earth, and we give God glories the church.

But you as an individually, you give worship in your

obedience and also in your holiness. That's the way that

that's one of the ways that you give God glory

is in your life and how you live your life.

I've told you the story before, and I can probably

give you numerous and numerous stories, but this is probably

the greatest story I can probably give you of the

danger of that happens many times in our churches. In

the church today broadly, there's a story of a pastor

that we that we knew was in a church in

the community that we were at at one point, and

the pastor had some stuff in his life. His personal

life was not right, and there were some issues with

his wife and the appropriate things that she had done

in the community, things that was happening in the life

of his children inappropriate. And and so the deacons, seeing

that his personal life did not match his his his

his life in the pool pit, confronted the pastor, came

to him and says, hey, pastor, these concerns that are

in in the church about what's happening in your personal life,

and and and the pastor responded, and he says, what

I do in the pool pit is the only thing

that matters to you is deacons and only things matters church.

What I do in my personal life has no bearing

on what I do as a pastor. And I tell

you that because I've seen this so many times in

churches throughout the years, whether it's teenagers or adults. There's

this idea that there's there's this church life and then

there's this personal life. And these don't overlap what I

do outside of the church and what I do inside

the church. They have no bearing one another. But I

want you to understand that according to this passage of scripture,

that's not what the Psama says. Right, what I, how I,

what I do in my personal life has a bearing

on my church life. What I do in my personal

life impacts how I worship the Lord, And he says

this in this past scripture. Listen to the verse here

at the very end. If I cherish iniquity in my heart, listen,

the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened.

He had tended to my voice. This understood that if

he had if his heart was not holy before the Lord,

if he had impurity in his heart, if he had

sin in his heart, it impacted his prayer. It's implied

here that if he was not faithful to obey God's command,

if it was not holy, then God would not have

hurt his prayer. What would that look like if his

heart was not right? Well, again, God tested us to

see what was in our hearts. If his heart would

not allow was not right, if he was right in

his obedience or holiness, maybe God would not responded to

his prayer to discipline him. What Scripture says, as a

father disc was his children, so does God discipline us right.

Maybe God not respond to his prayer to this one

from not obeying his word. Maybe God will not respond

to his prayer to allow sin to run its course

in his life. In a psalm, as he says, Lord,

I want to give you glory through my right worship.

I wonder today for you individually. Where are you and

your individually giving right worship to the Lord. Where are

you in your holiness? Personal holiness? Is your heart right

before the Lord? How about in your obedience? You've made

commitments to God? How are you obeying those? Do you

see that those directly impact how you give God glory?

Will you say today, Lord, I want to obey you,

and I want to give you glory through my obedience.

And God, I want to give you glory through my holiness.

And then we can praise God. That listen, Just as

he says, I cried with him my mouth and high

praise us on my tongue. If I cherish anick with

my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly

God has listened. He has attended to the voice of

my prayer. Blessed be God, because He's not rejected my

prayer or removed it. That fast love from me today,

will you give God glory through your obedience, through your righteousness,

through your holiness. It calls us individually to give Him

glory in righteousness. You know, as you come to this passage,

as we finished this morning. It starts with whole earth

giving God glory, all the earth. Can you imagine that

it's hard for us even get our minds around the

entire earth giving God glory. There is coming a day

that when Jesus returns. The Bible says, every knee will

bow and every tongue will confess. There's a day that

everyone will give God glory, every knee will bow, whether

they do it today or not, there is a day

that's coming. And what is that day? Well, Corinthians calls

it the day of Judgment. It says, for we must

all appear before the judgment seed of Christ, so that

each one may receive what is due for what he

has done in the body, where they're good or evil.

The day's coming for all of us, by all the world,

that they're going to bow before the Lord, and all

of us. Some will come and praise and glory, and

some will come cringing to the Lord. On that day

of judgment. I ask you today, when the Lord reappears

again and he comes on that great judgment seat, where

will you be that day? Will you come in praise

and give God glory? Or you come as an enemy

of God cringing to him because you've never put your

faith in Jesus Christ as your lord savior. Listen, Jesus

came and lived and died on the cross, that you

might have a relationship with him, that you might know

his love, that you might know his forgiveness, and you

might have a relationship with him. Maybe here today. You're

coming here today, and today God's inviting you to worship

him your whole life. You've not lived your life to

worship the Lord. You've lived your life to worship other things. Today,

He's calling you to give your life to Him that

he might you might live your life for his glory today?

Would you do that? Today? He's calling on you. Would

you answer? He's calling on us to give him glory.

We're going to sing a song with just a minute. Listen,

I challenge you. I challenge you. We're going to sing

a song. Let's not go through the motions of this

next song. May we sing this song to give God glory.

May we as a congregation lift our voices and said, God,

we give you glory for testing God. You're trying us. God,

we want to give you glory. And may we give

him glory individually, God, with hearts that are right before him.

Will you stand with me. It's gonna come and lead

us in the song as you stand, all pray and

we're going to sing. Father, we thank you Lord for

this morning. God. I thank you Lord for your word. Lord.

I believe with all, with all my heart today this

passage was for this morning for these or to hear God.

Sometimes Lord, we're guilty and we may worship and all

about us and what we're getting and not what we're giving. Lord.

I pray that Lord, we see this morning. Lord, your

call upon us is not about what we receive, but

God what we give. And Lord, I pray now we

would give you the worship you deserve what you've done

for your great power to deliver and to judge. Or

I pray today that we as a church, Lord, we

give you glory for your testing that God, you're testing

us to see what's in our hearts, whether we will

obey your word or I pray today we would give

you glory for how you sustain us in the testing. Lord.

I pray that we as individual as Lord, would consider Lord,

whether our worship is right, whether we're obeying Lord your

word as we should, or whether we are our hearts

are right and holy before you and God. If they're not,

I pray the day we would take some time to

repent of the sin that's in our life individually, turn

back to you, Father, Lord, return to you and obeying

your word. Lord, whatever you cause to do, Lord, I

pray this will be the day. This will be the

time Lord, we confess our sins before you, Father, or

I pray for someone here today that doesn't know you

as Lord and savior. Lord. One day you're coming again

and God will all stand before your judgment. But Lord,

today they're not right with you, And I pray today

there'd be those who would put their faith in you

for salvation, who confess Lord their sins before you, admit

that they're a sinner, believe that you died on across

from them, and or confess their need for you today, Lord,

and they would surrender their life Lord for your glory. Lord,

we love you, or I pray you lead us in

this time of invitation in your name, we pray Jesus