God's Word

Good morning. It is wonderful to be back with you again, and it is a wonderful privilege to share the scriptures with you.

Now, I must just tell you, it sounds very loud. Is it loud for you? It sounds very loud.

I must tell you something that happened this morning. On the way to church, we were in the bus, and we said,

let's pray for church this morning. And so my youngest daughter, she's three years old, she said, she prayed this.

She said, I pray, Jesus, that Daddy will enjoy and have fun preaching.

And I thought that was very important and very clever of her to pick up, because this morning, my wife, Claire, said to me,

you know, sometimes when you preach, you look very angry.

And on Friday night, we had CG together. Chris and Eric led us in a brilliant time of CG together.

But during the time of worship, Graham took a photo, and he sent it to me, and I thought, I looked like I was in the dentist's chair.

I looked like the dentist was doing some operation on me. I looked so serious, but actually I was enjoying it.

And so I want you to know, sometimes I can get serious. Sometimes I can look very intense, but I'm actually having fun.

So I'm going to try and smile some more. I'm going to try and speak slowly.

If I look like I'm not having fun, I am having fun. And I hope you have fun as well.

Okay? So Jesus, help us to all have fun this morning.

This morning, we are in week two of this series called The Church That Jesus Is Building.

And we're looking at some of the foundational truths that the Bible tells us.

This is the way that Jesus builds His church.

And so we're asking the questions is, what does it mean to be the church?

How does God go about building His church?

And so as a family, we're looking at these foundational truths in Scripture about how Jesus goes about building His church.

And as a church, we've gone through a lot of transition in the last two years.

We've changed venues where we've met on Sundays.

Our offices changed. There's been staff changes.

Tobin and Christina, who planted this church, had to go back to America.

So many transitions and changes.

And in a way, we are taking these four weeks to lift our eyes or to fix our eyes on something deeper than merely who's leading this church.

We're fixing our eyes on Jesus and say, what does it mean for Jesus to lead His church and to build His church?

Now, last week I said that the implications of these messages are far more communal than individualistic.

The implication of these sermons isn't, this is how it affects my going to work tomorrow.

These messages tend to speak to us as a gospel family.

What does it mean to be part of this church?

What does it mean to be part of Watermark?

And if you are new to Watermark or you're looking in, or maybe you're not even sure about Jesus and the Bible,

this series is designed to help us think about the question, what would it look like if I were to be part of a church family like this?

And so, last Sunday we looked at Psalm 127.

Unless the Lord builds the house, those that build it labor in vain.

Unless God is watching over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

And we looked at the fact that how the church isn't just a gathering of gifted individuals who try their best.

The church is something that God is at work at.

Unless Jesus is front and central of the church, all our best efforts are going to be in vain.

Now, this morning, let's consider this passage that was read to us.

Isaiah 66, verse 1 and 2.

Isaiah 66:1

This is what God says.

Thus says the Lord, the heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool.

What is the house that you would build for me?

All these things my hand has made, says the Lord, and so they came to be.

But this is the one that I will look to, those who are humble and contrite and tremble at my word.

Four things we're going to learn about God this morning.

We're going to learn about God and His church, God and His favor or His blessing,

God and His word, and then the word that rescues and redeems.

Okay?

So that's where we're going to go.

So let's consider the context.

The book of Isaiah is written around 700 BC.

And it's written prophetically to the nation of Israel.

The nation of Israel have lost their way a little bit.

And they're about to be taken into exile into Babylon.

God has warned them because they're not listening to Him.

They're not taking His word seriously.

That God is going to send the Babylonians and they're going to be a tool in God's hand to discipline His people.

And so it happens.

But Isaiah writes and he says,

You'll be in Babylon, not forever, for a certain length of time.

And then God will restore you.

He'll bring you back from exile back to Jerusalem.

And he writes to this time when they're going to come back.

And so once again they would come back to the promised land.

And it would be just like they went the first time.

It would be back home again.

And one of the first things that they were to do when they get back home is to rebuild the temple.

Remember Solomon built this magnificent temple.

The glory of God was there.

The presence of God was there.

And so when the Babylonians came, they pulled down the temple, destroyed it.

And one of the first things that Israel has to do is to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

And so they do.

And it's hard work.

There's some disruptions.

There's some persecution.

But eventually they rebuild the temple.

And it's an amazing achievement.

It's a stunning achievement.

God's house has been rebuilt.

And God's presence, they're hoping, is going to dwell in His temple again.

And so the temple is finally constructed.

The priests are ready.

The holy of holies is restored.

The altar where you bring your worship and your sacrifices constructed.

Everyone is excited.

Everyone is getting ready.

God's house has been rebuilt.

And so the people are thinking, we've done it.

We've achieved this amazing thing.

What could possibly go wrong now?

And look at what God says.

Heaven is my throne.

The earth is my footstool.

What is the house that you would build for me?

All these things my hands have made.

And so they came to be.

First thing.

God and His church.

Notice this.

The people of God are anticipating this amazing day.

Having rebuilt God's house, they were very happy and very proud of themselves.

The center of worship, the center of Israel had been torn down and they were the ones to rebuild it.

They were so proud of themselves.

And yet God says, what is the house that you think you can build for me?

Don't you realize that every single thing in the whole universe is as a result of my hands?

Says God.

In other words, God is saying, you're feeling very confident and proud of yourselves because you think by your own brilliance, your own dedication, your own hard work, you built a magnificent place for me.

As if I, God, am now indebted to your genius, your dedication.

But don't you realize there is not one dot in all creation which is beyond my sovereign hand and outside of my realm.

And the people of God were thinking, finally, God will be at rest.

For the last 70 years, we've been in Babylon and His house has been torn down.

And God must be very anxious because the temple is in ruins and He must be restless.

And God must be very anxious.

But finally, God can be at rest because we've built Him a house.

Thank goodness God has us on His side.

Isn't God so fortunate that we are on His team and have built Him His house?

God can finally be at rest.

And yet God says, the whole universe is my throne.

All these things my hand has made.

What is the house you'd built for me?

The place of my rest.

And just think of the imagery.

The expansiveness of the cosmos.

The hundreds of billions of light years of space.

As creation, as human beings, we haven't even found the end of the universe.

It's ever expanding.

Hundreds of billions of light years of space.

And God says, not even all of that is enough to fill my house.

That is merely a throne, a chair for me to sit on.

And the whole earth with billions of people in it, what is that?

It's merely a footstool.

And so earlier in Isaiah 40, God says the same thing.

He says, lift your eyes to the starry host.

Who created all of these?

Who brings each one of them out by number?

I call them each by name.

By the greatness of my might and because I am strong in power, not one star is missing.

And so the question God asks is, Israel, what kind of God do you think I am that I need you to build a house for me?

If the sovereign God of the Bible truly is the maker of heaven and earth, as the Bible says, the one who brought into being every galaxy and every star and every solar system, the one who knows each and every creature in the ocean depths, the ones we haven't even discovered.

If God is the one who knows the answers to every single mystery, like what is dark matter?

Where did life really originate?

And even questions we haven't even thought of yet.

God already knows the answers.

If this is even remotely true, why does Israel think they have done God a great favor by building him a house as if God needed their help?

You see, they thought their relationship with God was transactional.

They do something for God and then God will do something for them.

If they are good to God, God will be good back to them.

And actually, if we think about it, that's the way that almost all of us approach the gods in our life.

Whether you are religious or whether you are secular.

Whether you believe in the God of the Bible or not.

We all have these gods that we hope in and trust in.

And we think that if we are good to them, they will pay us back.

Expect something in the turn.

Whether it's the God of the Bible or the universe or karma.

We have this expectation of this transaction between us and these gods.

And in the book of Acts chapter 17, the apostle Paul notices this.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Remember, Paul is walking around Athens.

It's a very intellectual city.

And he walks across an idol.

A kind of stone that has written on it to the unknown God.

And what probably happened was that somebody in Athens, maybe they were sick and they got healed miraculously.

Or maybe a business deal went well.

And they thought, God has been good to us.

I better be good back to God.

Or maybe their child was sick and they were hoping that God would be good to them or look favorably upon them.

And so they thought, if I make this idol for God, if I build this temple for God, whoever that God is, then maybe he will be good back to me.

And so he builds this temple and he writes, I don't know who you are, but to the unknown God, please look upon me favorably.

Be good to my business.

Good to my family.

And Paul writes this.

He says, he walks around and he says, what you worship is unknown.

Let me tell you about him.

Let me tell you about this God.

The God who made the world and everything in it.

Being Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands as though this God needed anything.

Since this God gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

And Paul is saying to these Athenians, he's saying, what kind of God do you serve if you think that he needs you and the work of your hands?

Don't you realize there's one true God and he is sovereign over everything, including his church?

And friends, what Paul says to these philosophers is the exact same thing that God says to the people of Israel.

And it's the same thing that God says to us, Watermark.

He says, they were proud of the fact that they were the ones to rebuild and establish God's presence.

God says, don't you realize my hands are the ones that bring this all about?

And so, Watermark, I want to say to you that I consider it the hugest privilege in the world to be a part of this family.

For Clara and I and our girls, we just consider it such a wonderful privilege.

We have not had the privilege of meeting Tobin and Christina, the couple that did a fantastic job in planting this church.

Founding this church.

Building it up to be a strong and solid church.

I hope to get to meet them one day.

And I'm so grateful for the elders and the staff that we get to work with.

It really is.

This is a fantastic church.

And it is a huge privilege for us to be a part of it.

And I pray that for years to come, we as a church will continue to be fruitful.

I pray that God will bless us.

I pray that God will look upon us with favor.

I pray that maybe in years to come, we might even get to plant churches.

And we'll be a blessing to other churches in Asia and in Hong Kong.

But let us remember this.

Watermark, let us never become so proud as to think that we have done God a great favor.

As if God is indebted to our hard work.

For He Himself gives to life, to mankind, life and breath and everything.

What is the house that we can build for Him?

All these things are a work of His hand.

And because of His grace, He brings them into being.

Okay?

The sovereign God and His church.

Secondly, God and His favor.

Or the favor of God.

The favor of God.

Now, look what happens in verse 2.

If you've got your bulletin there, your Bible.

Look at verse 2.

God says,

All these things my hand has made, and so they came to be.

And then He says,

And this is the one that I will look to.

He who is humble and contrite in spirit.

So, God has just clarified who the power behind the throne is.

God has just clarified that He is sovereign.

He is the one that brings all things into being.

He is God, and there is no one else like Him.

Everything is in His hands.

He is the one who sent them into exile,

and He is the one who is going to bring them back from exile.

And He is the one who has been at work building His church.

So, here's the question.

If God is sovereign,

if everything is in His hands,

how do we know whether God is going to bless our efforts as a church?

I mean, we get to work hard.

We're going to be hospitable.

We're going to do everything we can.

But ultimately, the future of Watermark Church is in God's hands,

not in the elders' hands.

We've got to be faithful.

But ultimately, our future is in God's hands.

So, how do we know whether God is going to bless us?

How do we know whether God is going to be favorable towards us?

Or whether God is just going to ask us just to work hard year in and year out?

Well, verse 2 tells us.

What does He say?

This is the one I will look to.

Or another translation says,

This is the one I will esteem.

This is the one I will be favorable to.

Those who are humble and contrite in spirit.

Friends, I hope you know,

God is not in the least bit interested in the size of our church.

Do you know that?

God is not in the least bit interested in how big or small,

how trendy, how popular it is,

whether our worship team is writing songs that are on iTunes every week,

whether the preacher is cool or not cool.

Those things don't bother God in the least.

Sometimes, let me say this,

in South Africa, where we've come from,

the churches around there often look at big churches,

popular churches,

and you think,

Wow, they're doing something right.

They must be doing something right.

They are big and they're growing.

They must be doing something right.

Not at all.

Sometimes, in Cape Town,

the city we come from,

we look at small churches,

and we think,

They must be doing right.

Because if they're big,

they've sold out.

They're just trying to be cool and relevant.

The small churches,

they're the ones that are really doing it right.

Friends, God doesn't care at all

whether your church is big or small.

How popular or how cool it is,

those things mean nothing.

What does God look to?

What pleases God?

What impresses Him?

What does God say?

This is the one that I will esteem.

This is the one that I will look to with favor.

Those who are humble and contrite in spirit.

Those who are not enamored with themselves,

but are enamored with who God is.

And that's why, friends,

confession and repentance

is such an important discipline

in the life of the church.

It should be part of our daily lives.

As we read our Bibles in the morning,

we should read what's in God's Word,

and we should say,

God, I don't see that in my own life.

I confess that.

I'm sorry, won't you forgive me?

We should acknowledge the difference

between who God is in our own lives.

It's so important to humble ourselves daily before God

because God says,

this is the one that I will look to.

Those who are humble and contrite in spirit.

You see, the Israelites,

they thought,

we built the temple.

It looks amazing.

And the priests have been down to Causeway Bay,

and they've got their Gucci outfits,

and the band is playing indie rock

and Hebrew jazz,

and everything's looking wonderful.

And the furnaces are beautiful,

and they think,

God must be so pleased with us.

And God says,

this is the one I will look to.

Those who are humble and contrite in spirit.

Barry Webb said it like this.

He said,

the physical restoration of the temple

was not enough.

Unless there was spiritual renewal,

the people would simply repeat

the sins of the past.

Isaiah was calling God's people

away from the ugly distortion of true faith,

which inevitably reasserts itself

where there's no heartfelt contrition before him.

Where heartfelt contrition is lacking,

worship in whatever building

is no better than pagan superstition.

Watermark,

I want to ask us

that as we go into this season,

let us not buy the lie

that if we can just get this right,

we can just get that right,

if we can just get the preacher

to wear decent clothes,

or we can just get the coffee right,

or the good chocolate brownie

in the welcome pack,

then we're going to,

our church is going to be fine.

Those things mean nothing to King Jesus.

Watermark,

the one thing that we really need,

the only thing that as a church

we really need,

you cannot buy

with all the gold in the world.

You cannot secure it

with all the connections in the world,

all the networks.

You cannot earn it

with all the hard work in the world.

The one thing we need,

we need the favor of God.

We need the presence of God.

We need the life of the Holy Spirit.

We need the power of God

and the work of our lives.

And how does God pour his favor on us?

This is the one I will look to you.

Those who are humble

and contrite in spirit.

God who blesses us.

With his favor.

May this be true of us.

May God look upon us favorably

because we are those

who are humble and contrite.

Now, thirdly,

so God and his church,

God and his favor,

God and his word.

Now, look again at your bulletins.

Look at the second half of verse 2.

What does God say there?

He says,

this is the one that I will look to.

Those who are humble.

Oh, let me ask you this question

before we get there.

Sorry.

What does this humility

and contrition look like?

How does God measure humility?

How does God know

whether we are really humble before him

or whether we are just,

you know,

putting on a facade,

whether maybe we are just saying

the right things

to try and pretend we're humble,

we act humble.

How do we know

whether in our heart of hearts

we are dependent on God

or we are self-reliant?

Well, look at what verse 2 says.

It says,

this is the one I will look to.

He who is humble

and contrite in spirit

and,

what does it say?

Trembles at my word.

Friends,

one of the most important things

for us to realize

is that our attitude

towards God's word

in many ways

is a reflection

of our attitude

towards God himself.

The way that God

measures our humility

towards him

is in our humility

towards God's word.

Do we sit over God's word

in judgment of it

as if we have

the final authority

as to what God's word say

or do we let God's word

speak to us?

Does our obedience to God

depend on whether

God's word agrees

without circumstances

or do we let God's word

have the final say?

Do we see God's word

as good advice

with our finances

or our relationships?

Who we get to date?

Who we marry?

How we respond to people

that have mistreated us?

Who we get to forgive?

Is God's word good advice

or is God's word authority

in our lives?

This is one of the things

that I must just say

I so admire about Chris

as I've got to work

with Chris

the last few weeks.

Chris has an unquenchable humility

and awe

before God's word.

Those of us that were there

on Friday night,

wasn't Friday night

a fantastic evening?

As we got into God's word,

John's gospel,

Chris and Eric

just opened up

God's word for us.

I want to encourage you

if you're not in a CG,

now's a fantastic time

to join one

as we go through

John's gospel together.

But friends,

are we interested

in God's word

or are we in awe before it?

Do we tremble

before the word

of our boss?

Do we tremble

before social media

or Facebook says about us

or Instagram says us?

God says,

this is the one

I look to.

Those who are in awe

before my word,

who take my word seriously.

And the reason why

God takes it so seriously

is because God's word,

his scripture,

is not just a means

of communicating ideas.

God's word isn't just

a communication of thoughts

or what God likes.

In many ways,

God's word is an extension

of himself.

That's why in Hebrews chapter 4

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

it says God's word is living,

it's active,

it's sharp,

it speaks to the depths

of our souls.

God's word speaks

to what's really going

on in our hearts

because God's word

is almost an extension

of himself.

And so,

this is what it means

that it's impossible

to break one of God's commands

without also almost

breaking relationship

with God himself.

This is surprising,

but it's actually true

of all our relationships.

I remember,

let me be honest with you.

When I was a child,

I had this problem.

I used to get angry

very easily.

My grandfather

had a problem with anger.

My father had a problem

with anger

and it somehow

got passed on to me.

And so,

I could get angry quickly.

And I went and saw

some people

and some professional people

helped me

and it kind of died away.

I thought I've dealt with it.

Until my children

reached about the age

of three

and I found this monster

coming out of me again.

And there would be times

when my blood would boil

and I found myself

getting so angry.

And it happened

around the time

my eldest daughter

turned three

and this is why it happened.

Sometimes I would say

to my child,

Sierra,

don't do that.

Do you hear me?

Only to find

a few months later

her doing that exact thing.

Does that sound familiar

or does it only happen

in our household?

Okay.

Or to say,

Sierra,

please listen to me.

I'm asking you

to please do this.

Do you understand?

Only to find

her not to do it.

And when I found

my kids

rejecting my words,

what made me

so frustrated

is that I almost

took it as a rejection

of me myself.

It was almost

as if my children

were saying,

forget you dad,

what you think

means nothing to me.

Which let's be honest,

to a three year old

is maybe quite close

to what was happening,

right?

But actually,

we see this

in all of Scripture.

When we take

God's Word lightly,

when we are blase

about God's Word,

it's actually because

we are blase

about God Himself.

We see this

in Genesis

with Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve

didn't just sin

because they ate

some forbidden fruit.

It wasn't like

they just broke

rule 6.3

of the rule book.

Actually,

in disobeying God,

Adam and Eve

were rejecting

God's leadership

and God's lordship

over their life.

We see this

in the book of Samuel

with King Saul.

Remember,

King Saul

is the first king

of Israel

and God

told Saul

to go into battle.

There's some enemies

that are coming

to fight them

and He says,

go and defeat

their enemies

before they defeat you.

And so He goes

to the Malachites

but God says

to Saul,

don't bring home

any of the spoil

of war.

Defeat their enemies

and then leave everything.

Don't bring home

any spoil of war.

And so what does Saul do?

He goes,

they defeat their enemy

and then he brings home

a whole lot

of the spoils of war.

And he brings home

some of the animals

and Samuel comes home

and says,

Saul,

what's this bleating

of sheep

that I can hear?

Where do these animals

come from?

And Saul puts

a religious spin on it.

He says,

oh,

we thought we'd bring

home some animals

to worship God.

We thought we'd

make a sacrifice

and worship God.

He puts this

religious spin on it.

And this is what

Samuel says.

He says,

does the Lord

delight in burnt offerings

and sacrifices

as much as in

obeying His voice?

For to obey God

is better than

many sacrifices.

To listen is better

than the fat

of many rams.

For disobedience

is the same

as witchcraft.

You see,

the problem

wasn't that Saul

didn't understand

God's word

or that he didn't

hear it properly.

Actually,

in his heart,

he wanted to be

his own God.

He wanted to be

his own Lord.

He wanted to be

his own king.

And friends,

when we don't take

God's word seriously,

it's because we don't

take God seriously

himself.

When we sit over

God's word

and judgment of it,

it's because we want

to maintain the right

to be our own king

and our own Lord

in our lives.

But actually,

and what it means

is as a church,

as church leaders,

as elders,

if we use God's word

to say what we want

to say,

if we twist it

and manipulate it

and we take it

out of context

to say things

that we wanted to say

rather than what

God's word really says,

actually as leaders,

we are using God

to build our own empire,

which in the end

will only be a monument

to our own futility.

And so,

Watermark,

whatever the future

of our church looks like,

wherever God takes us,

whatever decisions

we make into the future,

I pray that this

will be true of us.

May we always,

only,

and forever

be rooted

and established

and built

on the perfect

and inerrant

word of God,

the authority of God.

I pray that more

than ever,

we will be a church

that loves the scriptures

because we love

the God of the scriptures.

I pray that Watermark

will be a church

that submits

to the authority

of scripture

because we submit

to God himself.

May we be a church

that is regularly

reading and applying

God's word to our lives,

spending time

in God's word

every day.

Maybe as we,

as you,

before you go to work,

get into God's word.

As you wait for the bus

at the bus stop,

read God's word.

As you're on the bus,

be meditating

and praying

through the Psalms.

Maybe in your lunch hour,

once a week,

take some time

and go and pray

and pray through

God's word.

But I pray

that we will be a church

that attracts the favor

and the blessing of God

because this church

is a church

that is humble

and contrite

and trembles

before God's word.

Fourth thing,

the word that rescues

and redeems.

Now,

God's word

came to the people

of Israel.

Came many times,

but there was a problem.

And the problem was

that they didn't receive it.

Now,

the reason they didn't receive

God's word

wasn't because they were,

you know,

dull

or a little bit thick

or because they weren't

very intelligent.

That wasn't the reason.

The reason that they,

the problem that they had

is the same problem

we have.

The reason they rejected

God's word

is the same reason

that we reject God's word.

And the reason is

because their hearts

were sick.

And the problem is

that our hearts are sick.

And so prophet after prophet

would come and bring them

God's word.

And some of the prophets,

like Jeremiah,

they threw down

a system,

a water well.

Isaiah,

they soared in two.

They killed him

and soared him in two.

Some of the prophets,

they listened to

for a short while

and then even they

rejected them

and didn't listen to them.

And so it wasn't long

before the people of God

rejected God's word

because they rejected

the God of the word.

And friends,

we do the same thing.

Almost all the problems

in our life

is because in some way

we don't believe

God's word.

We think we know better

than God's word.

It's the reason why

there's greed in the world.

It's the reason why

we have interpersonal relationships,

problems with our relationships.

It's the reason why

we don't get on with people.

And so the consequences

of this are always disastrous.

But thank God

that's not the end of the story.

And so Isaiah came

and brought this message.

But Isaiah's message

wasn't just a warning.

He didn't just warn them.

It wasn't just

a call to repentance.

Actually, Isaiah came

and brought some good news.

And though the people

had rejected God's word

and though God's people

had lost their way,

God hadn't given up on them.

In fact,

God was more committed

to them than ever.

He would rescue them.

He would redeem them.

And He would do so

by sending another word.

He had sent them

His word and His prophets.

They hadn't listened.

God was so committed.

He said,

I'll send you another word.

But this time

He'd send the ultimate word.

This time He'd send

the word made flesh.

This time He'd send

His Son.

And so the Apostle John

writes this,

The word became flesh

and dwelt amongst us.

And we have seen His glory.

He came full of grace

and full of truth.

Friends,

Jesus Christ

is the ultimate word of God.

The ultimate revelation of God.

The ultimate good news of God.

He didn't just come

as a prophet.

Jesus came to do

what no prophet could do.

He came full of truth.

He came to tell us

what the truth of God

is really like.

Who God is like.

If you want to know

what God is like,

get to know Jesus.

Jesus came full of truth

to tell us

the reality

of who God is

and what He's like.

But Jesus also came

to tell us

the truth

of our hearts.

That our hearts

are sinful.

That our hearts

have lost their way.

That our hearts

have gone our own way.

But Jesus

didn't just come

full of truth.

He also came

full of grace.

Jesus came to do

what no prophet could do.

He came to bring us grace.

But He didn't just come

to tell us about grace.

He didn't just come

to explain grace.

He came to purchase us grace.

And He did it,

as Chris said earlier,

the most costly way

anyone could ever do it.

He did it

by dying on the cross.

He did it

with His blood.

He came to purchase

grace for us

and to cover our sin

with His grace.

And so Colossians 3

says this,

In Him,

in Jesus,

the fullness of God

was pleased to dwell

and through Him

to reconcile

to Himself

all things,

things in heaven

and on earth,

making peace.

How?

By the blood

of the cross.

Friends,

Jesus Christ

is the ultimate

revelation of God.

The ultimate Word of God.

The Word of God

that rescues

and redeems.

The Word that doesn't

just tell us

to live better.

The Word that brings us

back to Himself

and rescues us

and restores relationship.

Jesus is the Word of God

that came to save us

if we'll come to Him

in humility

and contrition,

humbly

and awe and reverence.

Watermark,

may we be a church

built and founded

upon this true

and better Word,

upon the living Word,

the Word of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Father,

this is what God says,

Heaven is my throne,

the earth is my footstool.

What is the house

that you'd build for me?

Don't you know

all these things

my hand has made

and so they came to be?

But this is the one

I will look to,

those who are humble

and contrite in spirit

and tremble

before my Word.

Let's pray together.

Can I invite you

to stand with me?

Amen.

Amen.

Let's close our eyes

and let's respond

to God's Word.

Friends,

how will we come to Him now?

Jesus invites us

to come to Him,

the living Word.

How do we come to Him?

Will we come to Him

in humility

and repentance

and confession?

Friends,

for those of us

that have maybe been

blasé

about God's Word,

can we repent of that?

For those of us

that come to God's Word

as if it's good advice,

let's repent of that

and ask Christ

to forgive us.

Ask Him to change

our attitude

towards His Word.

for those of us

who maybe have sat

over God's Word

as if we are

the final judge of it.

Can we repent of that?

Can we

bring ourselves

under God's Word

and say,

Father,

You have the final say

in my life.

Maybe some of us

come to God

intellectually.

We think of God's Word

as a manual.

It's a book

to analyze.

But we don't come

to God Himself.

Friends,

God wants us

to come to Him.

He wants His Word

to breathe life

into our souls.

He wants to both

challenge us

and encourage us

as we come

to His Word.

Father,

we repent of that.

God,

we want You.

We want to meet

with You.

We want to love You.

God,

won't Your Word

speak to us

and may we encounter

You in Your Word.

God,

won't You open

the eyes of our heart

to see wondrous

truths in Your Word,

to see glorious

things there

that we may encounter

You, God.

God,

won't You make us

more like You

as we come

to Your Word,

won't You make us

more like You.

Jesus,

we thank You

that You are

the living Word,

the Word that came

not just to tell us

what God is like,

not just to show us

what God is like,

but to bring us

back to God.

Jesus,

come and have Your way

in our life.

Come and be first

and foremost.

Come and be at the center

of our lives,

we pray.

let's worship

this wondrous

and majestic

God,

our King

together.

Let's worship.

Thank you.