August 3, 2026 • 32 mins
Why do we worship God? Have you ever thought about it? In the assigned psalms for this week, we have several reasons to give Him our worship and praise! #StJohnsBuffalo #CovertoCoverBible #BookOfPsalms #NoFoolsOnlyFaith
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Hello, this is Pastor Ryan Clark.
You are listening to a message from St.
John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota. 4 00:00:14,764.897959184 --> 00:00:19,194.897959184 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 5 00:00:19,844.897959184 --> 00:00:20,424.897959184 Amen. 6 00:00:21,904.897959184 --> 00:00:35,654.897959184 This week, I looked up biggest fools in the history of the world, and boy, there were a lot of people competing for biggest fools who have ever lived on the planet. 7 00:00:36,104.897959184 --> 00:00:41,604.897959184 But there were three that stood out to me that I'd like to share with you here tonight as we begin this message. 8 00:00:42,704.896959184 --> 00:00:49,94.895959184 During the Civil War, General John Sedgwick stood near the front lines. 9 00:00:49,534.896959184 --> 00:00:54,634.897959184 His men were all ducking for cover from Confederate snipers. 10 00:00:54,994.895959184 --> 00:01:01,184.896959184 He mocked his soldiers saying, "What are you hiding for? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." 11 00:01:02,114.898959184 --> 00:01:07,554.894959184 Just seconds after this proclamation, he got shot in the head and was killed. 12 00:01:09,274.897959184 --> 00:01:18,114.895959184 Then there was Alexander Bogdanov, who was a Russian revolutionary, who was obsessed with finding the cure for aging. 13 00:01:18,724.894959184 --> 00:01:24,744.892959184 His theory was that you could achieve immortality by swapping blood with other people. 14 00:01:25,544.898959184 --> 00:01:30,824.898959184 The first 11 transfusions went well, and he claimed he felt decades younger. 15 00:01:31,394.896959184 --> 00:01:41,304.89495918 But unfortunately, in his 12th transfusion in 1928, he swapped blood with someone who had malaria and tuberculosis. 16 00:01:41,684.89795918 --> 00:01:46,354.89395918 No surprise to anyone but perhaps him, he died shortly afterward. 17 00:01:47,244.89595918 --> 00:02:00,374.89295918 And finally, in 1859, Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits from Europe into the Australian wild because he wanted something familiar to hunt. 18 00:02:01,54.89295918 --> 00:02:07,394.89795918 He didn't think that such a small number of rabbits would make little difference to the Australian environment. 19 00:02:07,794.89895918 --> 00:02:10,714.89395918 He ended up being very wrong. 20 00:02:11,124.89295918 --> 00:02:18,804.89895918 Within a few years, the rabbit population grew from 24 rabbits to 600 million. 21 00:02:20,514.89295918 --> 00:02:30,184.89995918 The rabbits destroyed the local ecosystem and caused massive erosion and drove many of the native animals to extinction. 22 00:02:30,844.89395918 --> 00:02:39,224.89595918 And Australia is still fighting what happened in 1859 over 150 years later. 23 00:02:40,204.89495918 --> 00:02:50,844.89895918 I would say that probably these three people are fighting for the designation of biggest fool who has ever lived on the planet. 24 00:02:52,444.89995918 --> 00:03:06,154.89095918 But as we continue our study of cover to cover, as we are literally going from Genesis through the book of Revelation, the Bible tells us who's the biggest fool of all. 25 00:03:08,546.89795918 --> 00:03:16,636.89795918 In Psalm 14 it says, "The fool is the one who says in his heart there is no God." 26 00:03:19,244.89795918 --> 00:03:30,234.89695918 We heard some pretty foolish things at the beginning of this message, but the biggest fool of all is the one who says there is no God. 27 00:03:32,258.89795918 --> 00:03:56,296.89795918 If you look up fool in the dictionary, it says a person who acts unwisely, a silly person So who is the unwise person? Who's the one that is just downright silly, shouldn't be taken seriously? It's the person who says there is no God. 28 00:03:59,648.89795918 --> 00:04:05,908.89795918 Now, the Psalms that we're going to be looking at here today were written by David. 29 00:04:07,588.89795918 --> 00:04:11,998.89795918 In Psalm 9, David, just the opposite, says, "I'm no fool. 30 00:04:12,578.89795918 --> 00:04:17,208.89695918 Not only do I believe that there's a God, but I'm gonna worship that God." 31 00:04:17,358.89795918 --> 00:04:20,598.89695918 He says, "I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart. 32 00:04:21,238.89695918 --> 00:04:24,718.89795918 I will tell people of all your wonderful deeds. 33 00:04:24,918.89695918 --> 00:04:27,58.89695918 I will be glad and rejoice in you. 34 00:04:27,58.89695918 --> 00:04:31,248.89695918 I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High." 35 00:04:32,828.89695918 --> 00:04:38,418.89795918 So David says, "I'm gonna give thanks to you for all the good things in my life. 36 00:04:38,968.89595918 --> 00:04:42,858.89795918 I'm gonna tell people about all the wonderful things that you do. 37 00:04:43,438.89795918 --> 00:04:55,498.89495918 I'm gonna be glad, I'm gonna rejoice, and I'm gonna sing your praises because not only are you real, but you're a good and gracious God." 38 00:04:57,922.89795918 --> 00:05:27,922.89795918 And it got me thinking, why do we worship God? Why do we gather here every week to worship Him? Why do we sing these songs? Why does a band come up every Saturday night and practice and then lead the people in worship? Well, from the Psalms that you read this past week in our Cover to Cover study, I picked out six reasons that you and I are to worship our God. 39 00:05:29,92.89795918 --> 00:05:30,132.89795918 We're no fools. 40 00:05:30,932.89595918 --> 00:05:37,642.89695918 We worship the Lord because number one, He's a marvelous creator. 41 00:05:39,352.89795918 --> 00:05:42,952.89595918 We worship God because He's a marvelous creator. 42 00:05:44,192.89795918 --> 00:05:53,202.89495918 In Psalm 19 it says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the works of His hands." 43 00:05:53,722.89695918 --> 00:06:12,642.89695918 We live in a day and age when we're always looking down at our phones, but if you put those phones away and look up into the sky, it's magnificent, isn't it? In fact, the psalmist here is saying that when you look up, it's practically screaming at you that there's a God. 44 00:06:13,602.89795918 --> 00:06:24,302.89795918 It's screaming at you that He is a powerful and artistic maker It says, "The heavens declare the glory of God. 45 00:06:24,332.89795918 --> 00:06:26,962.89795918 The skies proclaim the work of His hands. 46 00:06:27,292.89795918 --> 00:06:30,72.89795918 Day after day, they pour forth speech. 47 00:06:30,272.89795918 --> 00:06:32,692.89695918 Night after night, they reveal knowledge. 48 00:06:32,882.89795918 --> 00:06:44,432.89695918 They have no speech, they use no words, no sound is heard from them, yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." 49 00:06:46,402.89795918 --> 00:06:49,842.89795918 The person that says there is no God is a fool. 50 00:06:49,842.89795918 --> 00:06:56,862.89795918 Why? Because all of creation is screaming out, "There's a God." 51 00:07:00,492.89795918 --> 00:07:12,332.89695918 We've had the opportunity to travel all around this country, and there are some beautiful landscapes, aren't there? Absolutely beautiful. 52 00:07:12,482.89795918 --> 00:07:20,522.89795918 When we lived out in New York, you had those purple mountain majesty going on out there. 53 00:07:21,102.89695918 --> 00:07:27,112.89795918 And then you come to the Midwest, and you've got all of the beautiful lakes and the sunsets. 54 00:07:27,712.89795918 --> 00:07:31,2.89795918 Wherever you go, you have these beautiful landscapes. 55 00:07:31,132.89795918 --> 00:07:34,192.89795918 Where did that come from? From God. 56 00:07:35,592.89895918 --> 00:07:38,772.89795918 He's an outstanding creator. 57 00:07:40,422.89695918 --> 00:07:41,92.89795918 Think about it. 58 00:07:41,172.89695918 --> 00:07:52,392.89595918 He could have made everything gray and flat, and we wouldn't know the difference, but He made it beautiful, colorful. 59 00:07:54,142.89795918 --> 00:07:58,862.89595918 He's a magnificent creator, and He's worthy of our praise. 60 00:08:00,152.89595918 --> 00:08:11,802.89795918 Now, there are some that would look at this stuff, they would look up in the sky, they would look at the landscapes, and they would say, "Oh, it's all done by natural processes over millions and millions of years." 61 00:08:11,852.89295918 --> 00:08:17,892.89395918 But can you honestly look at any of these things up here on the screen and say, "No, it doesn't have a maker. 62 00:08:18,62.89995918 --> 00:08:32,808.89795918 It was here by random chance"? Can you imagine finding a guitar out in the middle of a forest and going, "Wow, look at what millions of years have done"? Or a cell phone or a watch. 63 00:08:33,398.89795918 --> 00:08:39,318.89795918 Nobody's saying over millions and millions of years, "Look at what nature did." 64 00:08:41,580.89795918 --> 00:08:55,760.89795918 How much less so should we say that about a baby? For as amazing as a guitar and a computer and a cellphone and a watch are, we are spectacular. 65 00:08:56,350.89795918 --> 00:09:17,258.89795918 As David says, and we're going to be reading more of his Psalms later, he says, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made," he says in Psalm 1:39 See why David would say anyone who says that there is no God that's behind all this is crazy. 66 00:09:21,714.89795918 --> 00:09:33,964.89795918 Have you ever thought about the eye, the human eye or the human ear? There are so many little intricate parts that all have to work perfectly together, otherwise it doesn't work. 67 00:09:35,784.89795918 --> 00:09:42,404.89795918 There's an argument that creationists have used for many years called irreducible complexity. 68 00:09:43,124.89795918 --> 00:09:59,904.89795918 That means that, like the ear, the human ear is so complex, but if one little thing was just a hair, not what it is, the whole thing, the whole- the whole thing would not work. 69 00:10:00,944.89595918 --> 00:10:04,184.89795918 Everything is exactly the way it is. 70 00:10:04,314.89795918 --> 00:10:27,796.89795918 And so the idea that we've evolved over millions and millions of years, that would mean that over millions of years, there would be people and animals that probably couldn't see or probably couldn't hear until it evolved to that place where it is today. 71 00:10:28,496.89795918 --> 00:10:34,426.89795918 Well, that doesn't make any sense, and that is certainly not what the Bible says. 72 00:10:36,236.89695918 --> 00:10:38,796.89795918 And then of course, there's DNA. 73 00:10:40,196.89795918 --> 00:10:47,836.89795918 Over the last 100 to 150 years, we've come to understand more of what DNA is. 74 00:10:48,886.89695918 --> 00:10:53,296.89695918 And you know what DNA is? It's a set of instructions. 75 00:10:54,236.89695918 --> 00:11:25,74.89795918 For those men out here that may not read instructions, what instructions are, if your child gets a complex toy, it usually comes with some instructions that you've got to open up and read, right? And it tells you how step by step to put it together When people discovered DNA, they realized, wow, that is a set of very complex instructions. 76 00:11:25,684.89795918 --> 00:11:32,864.89695918 In each strand of DNA, there is the equivalent of eight thousand books of information. 77 00:11:34,334.89795918 --> 00:11:38,834.89695918 In every single strand, in every single cell. 78 00:11:39,4.89795918 --> 00:11:43,414.89795918 And you know how many cells we have in our body? About thirty trillion. 79 00:11:48,130.89795918 --> 00:11:54,680.89795918 Francis Crick, one of the co-discoverers of DNA, he was not open to a God. 80 00:11:54,850.89795918 --> 00:12:04,240.89795918 But look at this interesting quote, "Biologists must constantly keep in mind what they see was not designed but evolved." 81 00:12:05,20.89695918 --> 00:12:13,510.89795918 In other words, he said, "You know what? When we look at DNA, it looks like there was a creator. 82 00:12:13,730.89595918 --> 00:12:20,700.89895918 It looks like someone wrote these instructions, so we have to constantly remind ourselves that it wasn't written down, it evolved." 83 00:12:22,540.89795918 --> 00:12:29,660.89695918 And my response to that is, is if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck, right? Quack, quack. 84 00:12:34,860.89795918 --> 00:12:48,586.89795918 Once again, with all the information that we have about creation For a person to say there is no God, David would say they're a fool. 85 00:12:51,468.89795918 --> 00:12:52,678.89795918 Theologian R.C. 86 00:12:52,688.89795918 --> 00:12:55,538.89795918 Sproul put it this way, and I like this quote. 87 00:12:55,798.89795918 --> 00:13:01,488.89695918 He says, "What are the chances of the universe being created by chance? Not a chance." 88 00:13:02,768.89695918 --> 00:13:03,418.89795918 Not a chance. 89 00:13:06,122.89795918 --> 00:13:07,42.89795918 We're no fools. 90 00:13:07,432.89795918 --> 00:13:13,372.89795918 We worship the Lord because number one, He's a marvelous creator, and He is. 91 00:13:13,922.89795918 --> 00:13:17,792.89695918 But that's not the only reason that we gather together to worship Him. 92 00:13:18,12.89695918 --> 00:13:24,322.89695918 Number two, we worship the Lord because He actually cares about us. 93 00:13:25,992.89795918 --> 00:13:37,502.89595918 Even though He's so big, He's so marvelous, He's done so many amazing things in landscapes, in the skies, and the universe, but He cares about you and me. 94 00:13:38,832.89695918 --> 00:13:46,342.89795918 In our highlighted verse for today, it's from Psalm 8, and you can hear David, "Wow, God, You're amazing. 95 00:13:46,962.89495918 --> 00:14:31,718.89695918 And when I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have all set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?" Lord, what is it about us that you being so great would care about little old me? Have you ever thought about how small you are? How small I am? Not only can they not see any one of us from a space shuttle, they can't see any one of us from a plane. 96 00:14:33,18.89695918 --> 00:14:40,778.89695918 We're so small on this earth, and we are here today and gone tomorrow. 97 00:14:40,938.89695918 --> 00:14:42,198.89695918 We're just a breath. 98 00:14:46,580.89695918 --> 00:14:57,500.89595918 David says, "What are we that you would be mindful of us? That you would care about us? But you are. 99 00:14:58,180.89595918 --> 00:14:59,750.89595918 You are mindful of us. 100 00:14:59,880.89595918 --> 00:15:02,380.89695918 You do care for us." 101 00:15:03,210.89595918 --> 00:15:07,470.89695918 In fact, in 1 Peter 5 it says, "Cast all your cares on Him." 102 00:15:07,470.89695918 --> 00:15:24,46.89695918 Why? Because magnificent, holy, amazing God cares for you That's why we can cast our cares on Him, because He actually cares about us. 103 00:15:25,216.89695918 --> 00:15:27,786.89695918 We worship the Lord because He's a marvelous creator. 104 00:15:27,956.89595918 --> 00:15:30,456.89695918 We worship the Lord because He cares about us. 105 00:15:30,506.89695918 --> 00:15:37,796.89595918 Number three, we worship the Lord because He hears and answers us when we call out to Him. 106 00:15:39,646.89695918 --> 00:15:55,446.89695918 In Psalm 10, David says, "Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourselves in times of trouble?" Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you're in the midst of a really difficult thing in your life and you're calling out to God, and it seems like He's absent. 107 00:15:56,146.89695918 --> 00:15:57,826.89595918 It seems like He's not there. 108 00:15:57,846.89795918 --> 00:15:59,246.89695918 He's not answering. 109 00:16:01,352.89695918 --> 00:16:05,332.89695918 One of the reasons I love the Psalms is because they're just so honest. 110 00:16:06,392.89695918 --> 00:16:07,392.89695918 They're so honest. 111 00:16:08,132.89695918 --> 00:16:17,104.89695918 And at the beginning of Psalm 10, he says, "Where are you?" And then in verse 12 he says, "Arise, Lord. 112 00:16:17,184.89695918 --> 00:16:18,574.89695918 Lift up your hand, O God. 113 00:16:18,614.89695918 --> 00:16:20,304.89695918 Don't forget the helpless." 114 00:16:21,254.89695918 --> 00:16:30,220.89695918 In other words, don't forget me It starts out, "Where are you?" But by the end of Psalm 10, look at where he's at. 115 00:16:31,390.89695918 --> 00:16:42,0.8969592 "You, Lord, You hear the desire of the afflicted, You encourage them and You listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed." 116 00:16:44,84.8969592 --> 00:16:47,274.8969592 By the end of the psalm, he's saying, "You do listen. 117 00:16:48,424.8969592 --> 00:16:50,574.8969592 Sometimes it feels like you're not. 118 00:16:50,734.8969592 --> 00:16:58,174.8959592 Sometimes I wonder where are you?" But by the end of the psalm, he says with great faith, "You do. 119 00:17:00,14.8959592 --> 00:17:00,534.8959592 You do." 120 00:17:02,24.8979592 --> 00:17:08,164.8969592 In Psalm 9 it says, "The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 121 00:17:08,444.8959592 --> 00:17:15,474.8969592 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you." 122 00:17:18,900.8969592 --> 00:17:26,950.8969592 Boy, you got to love that word never, huh? He's never forsaken those who say, "I'm gonna seek you until I find you." 123 00:17:29,12.8969592 --> 00:17:32,672.8969592 So you know what He's inviting us to do? Seek Him. 124 00:17:34,202.8969592 --> 00:17:45,222.8969592 If you're in a bad place, if you're struggling with something in your life, seek Him because He's never forsaken anyone who has sought Him like that. 125 00:17:49,534.8969592 --> 00:18:08,158.8969592 How can you and I be sure that if we seek Him, we're gonna find Him? How can we be sure that God, who's holy and otherworldly, how can I be sure that my prayer's gonna get to Him? As Christians, we know how. 126 00:18:08,508.8969592 --> 00:18:18,418.8969592 In John 14, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life, and no one gets to the Father except through me." 127 00:18:19,28.8969592 --> 00:18:35,168.8969592 That's why Jesus came here to this earth, to bring us back to God so that my prayers would get through to Him, so that He could talk back to me, so that when I need Him, my prayer gets through. 128 00:18:35,328.8959592 --> 00:18:37,118.8959592 He can talk back to me. 129 00:18:37,138.8969592 --> 00:18:39,788.8979592 He can help me in my time of need. 130 00:18:39,908.8979592 --> 00:18:42,18.8959592 That's what Jesus is all about. 131 00:18:42,228.8969592 --> 00:18:43,898.8969592 This is why Jesus came. 132 00:18:44,498.8979592 --> 00:18:55,318.8969592 Our sin had separated us from Him But through the perfect life and the death and resurrection of Jesus, he brought us back to our God. 133 00:18:58,112.8969592 --> 00:18:58,382.8969592 St. 134 00:18:58,382.8969592 --> 00:19:14,112.8969592 Paul puts it this way in his first letter to Timothy, "For there is one God and there's one mediator between God and mankind, and that is the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people." 135 00:19:14,782.8969592 --> 00:19:16,782.8969592 You and I, we needed a mediator. 136 00:19:16,782.8969592 --> 00:19:26,642.8969592 We needed someone to take us and pull us together, and that's what Jesus did through his life, death, and resurrection for us. 137 00:19:28,312.8959592 --> 00:19:35,22.8969592 We worship the Lord because he's a marvelous creator, because he cares for us, because he hears and answers us. 138 00:19:35,22.8969592 --> 00:19:40,652.8949592 Number four, we worship the Lord because he counsels us. 139 00:19:42,22.8969592 --> 00:19:51,252.8939592 In Psalm 16, David writes, "I will praise the Lord who counsels me, and even at night my heart instructs me." 140 00:19:54,944.8969592 --> 00:20:08,336.8969592 You ever need counsel? Do you ever need wisdom? You can have it because you have a God who has promised to counsel those who ask. 141 00:20:09,196.8969592 --> 00:20:13,456.8969592 In John 14, Jesus said, "All this I've spoken while still with you. 142 00:20:13,746.8959592 --> 00:20:24,846.8969592 But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of every wise thing that I have said to you." 143 00:20:26,76.8959592 --> 00:20:35,666.8969592 Jesus was taugh- saying to his disciples, "You know, while I'm here, I can counsel you, but I'm about ready to go to heaven. 144 00:20:36,616.8949592 --> 00:20:39,126.8959592 But I'm not gonna leave you without a counselor. 145 00:20:39,756.8949592 --> 00:20:54,446.8969592 I'm gonna give you a counselor that's actually even gonna be closer to you than I am, because he's gonna live inside of you, and you can call out to that counselor at any time for counsel, and he'll give it to you." 146 00:20:55,716.8979592 --> 00:20:57,36.8949592 That's the Holy Spirit. 147 00:20:58,836.8969592 --> 00:21:09,896.8949592 In James 1, he puts it this way: "If any one of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." 148 00:21:11,36.8969592 --> 00:21:33,364.8969592 So if you ask for wisdom, you say, "Holy Spirit, I need counsel in this situation that I'm in in my life," the Holy Spirit is never gonna take into account the dumb thing that you did that day He's gonna give generously without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 149 00:21:34,454.8969592 --> 00:21:46,268.8969592 For that, He is worthy of our praise One of the ways that the Holy Spirit gives that counsel is through the Bible. 150 00:21:46,668.8969592 --> 00:22:02,78.8969592 Look at what it says in 2 Timothy 3, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 151 00:22:03,508.8969592 --> 00:22:12,668.8969592 God uses those eternal words on the pages of our Bible to speak directly to us by His Holy Spirit. 152 00:22:13,708.8949592 --> 00:22:20,948.8949592 This is why we're reading the Bible over these two years, because it's unlike any other book that you've ever read. 153 00:22:21,288.8969592 --> 00:22:38,728.8969592 It has living words on the page that our amazing God can take right off the page and speak right to you the wisdom and counsel that you need for whatever's going on in your life Number five, we're no fools. 154 00:22:39,88.8969592 --> 00:22:43,828.8969592 We worship the Lord because His law protects us. 155 00:22:46,36.8969592 --> 00:22:52,466.8969592 Look at what it says in Psalm 19, "The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. 156 00:22:52,656.8969592 --> 00:22:56,546.8969592 The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 157 00:22:56,856.8969592 --> 00:23:00,506.8959592 The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. 158 00:23:00,746.8969592 --> 00:23:03,956.8959592 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold. 159 00:23:04,346.8969592 --> 00:23:07,466.8969592 They are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. 160 00:23:08,46.8959592 --> 00:23:13,256.8969592 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward." 161 00:23:14,346.8969592 --> 00:23:20,756.8949592 Look at how glowingly David is speaking about God's law. 162 00:23:21,126.8979592 --> 00:23:31,380.8969592 I wonder how many of us look at God's law that way? I think most of the time we probably look at the law as the opposite of the gospel. 163 00:23:31,380.8969592 --> 00:23:34,180.8969592 The gospel's the good news, the law's the bad news. 164 00:23:35,220.8969592 --> 00:23:36,770.8969592 And to a certain point it is. 165 00:23:36,770.8969592 --> 00:23:43,660.8959592 When the law points at us and says, "You're a sinner and you need a savior," that is kinda bad news for us. 166 00:23:43,670.8959592 --> 00:23:46,50.8959592 The good news is Jesus is our savior. 167 00:23:46,810.8969592 --> 00:23:49,620.8959592 But the law in and of itself is not bad. 168 00:23:50,310.8969592 --> 00:23:52,120.8959592 In fact, it's wonderful. 169 00:23:52,120.8959592 --> 00:23:53,390.8959592 That's what he's saying here. 170 00:23:53,640.8969592 --> 00:23:55,720.8959592 The law of the Lord is perfect. 171 00:23:55,950.8959592 --> 00:23:59,210.8969592 Why? Because it keeps us out of trouble. 172 00:24:00,30.8939592 --> 00:24:20,760.8959592 You know, life is hard enough the way it is without making a whole bunch of foolish decisions that are gonna make it even harder, right? And so God in His love for us has given His law in the Bible to help us know right from wrong, to help us know what we should do and what we shouldn't do. 173 00:24:21,470.8969592 --> 00:24:25,470.8959592 And when we follow it, it's like a warning to us. 174 00:24:26,170.8939592 --> 00:24:34,420.8939592 And in keeping it, it keeps us from going through some of the trials that we see our neighbors and, and friends going through. 175 00:24:37,190.8979592 --> 00:24:58,970.8979592 In Deuteronomy 10 it says, "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I'm giving you today," and here's the important words, "for your own good." 176 00:24:59,730.8969592 --> 00:25:30,66.8979592 Why did God give us His law? Not because He was trying to prove that He's God and we're not Because He loves us and He wants us to keep from going through unnecessary trials in our life and heartbreak That's why He's given us His law for our own good Finally, number six. 177 00:25:30,826.8979592 --> 00:25:31,706.8979592 We're no fools. 178 00:25:31,706.8979592 --> 00:25:38,576.8979592 We worship the Lord, and most importantly, because He forgives us when we fail. 179 00:25:39,806.8979592 --> 00:25:48,626.8979592 So He's given us this amazing law to keep us on the right track, but we all fall. 180 00:25:49,266.8969592 --> 00:25:50,276.8979592 We all fail. 181 00:25:51,186.8969592 --> 00:25:59,396.8969592 We all rebel against that law from time to time, and when we do, we need forgiveness. 182 00:26:00,776.8969592 --> 00:26:10,526.8989592 And the last and most important reason that we see in these Psalms for why we worship the Lord is because He forgives us whenever we fail. 183 00:26:11,696.8969592 --> 00:26:12,866.8979592 Look at Psalm 14. 184 00:26:12,876.8979592 --> 00:26:20,606.8969592 It says, "The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there is any who understand, any who seek God." 185 00:26:21,626.8979592 --> 00:26:24,766.8959592 And what did He find? "All have turned away. 186 00:26:25,106.8969592 --> 00:26:26,706.8969592 All have become corrupt. 187 00:26:26,846.8949592 --> 00:26:30,956.8959592 There is no one who does good, not even one." 188 00:26:32,436.8949592 --> 00:26:50,86.8949592 What does that word all mean? It means all, doesn't it? It means every single person that has ever lived on this planet, say Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a fallen human being, is a rebel against God. 189 00:26:50,466.8939592 --> 00:26:51,726.8949592 All have turned away. 190 00:26:51,996.8929592 --> 00:26:54,706.8959592 All have become corrupt. 191 00:26:58,224.8979592 --> 00:27:14,254.8979592 Once again, back to that picture of how small we are, how tiny we are, how seemingly insignificant we are, how we're just a breath, we're here today and gone tomorrow, and then add to that, that we're a bunch of rebels. 192 00:27:16,74.8969592 --> 00:27:22,544.8979592 Why would God want anything to do with us? But he does. 193 00:27:24,384.8979592 --> 00:27:41,114.8969592 In Psalm 1:30 it says, "If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?" If God kept a record of every time in your life or in my life that we've rebelled against him, there's not a single person in here that wouldn't be down on your face. 194 00:27:42,734.8979592 --> 00:27:54,406.8979592 We have all failed over and over and over again But with you, there is forgiveness. 195 00:27:55,166.8979592 --> 00:28:03,666.8979592 Isn't that wonderful? Forgiveness means that God washes our record clean. 196 00:28:06,758.8979592 --> 00:28:12,418.8979592 In Psalm 6 it says, "Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. 197 00:28:12,578.8979592 --> 00:28:14,668.8979592 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I'm faint. 198 00:28:14,678.8979592 --> 00:28:17,798.8969592 Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony." 199 00:28:19,318.8979592 --> 00:28:30,422.8979592 He understood that there was a connection between my sin and what I'm going through And he says, "Forgive me. 200 00:28:30,432.8979592 --> 00:28:31,292.8979592 Heal me. 201 00:28:33,330.8979592 --> 00:28:39,210.8979592 But once again, by the end of the Psalm, what does he say? "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy. 202 00:28:39,670.8979592 --> 00:28:42,590.8979592 The Lord accepts my prayer." 203 00:28:43,560.8979592 --> 00:28:51,214.8979592 Isn't that amazing? From time to time, I hear people say things to me like this, and I just heard it this week. 204 00:28:51,444.8979592 --> 00:28:57,534.8979592 Someone said, "I must have done something really bad to have the situation that I'm going through." 205 00:28:59,234.8979592 --> 00:29:05,264.8979592 My answer to that is, not everything bad that you and I go through is because of something we did. 206 00:29:06,854.8969592 --> 00:29:14,744.8969592 A lot of times it's the fact that we live in a sinful world and we're sinners ourself. 207 00:29:16,906.8979592 --> 00:29:21,526.8979592 And we all go through times of trial in our lives. 208 00:29:21,836.8979592 --> 00:29:32,786.8979592 But whatever the reason is that we're going through a trial, God has promised to come to forgive us and to help us. 209 00:29:33,196.8979592 --> 00:29:41,442.8979592 That's why we have a healing service here tonight In Psalm 103, these are my favorite verses in the whole Bible. 210 00:29:41,442.8979592 --> 00:29:43,662.8979592 It says, "Praise the Lord, my soul. 211 00:29:43,902.8979592 --> 00:29:46,552.8979592 All my inmost being, praise His holy name. 212 00:29:46,782.8979592 --> 00:29:50,82.8969592 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits." 213 00:29:50,172.8979592 --> 00:29:53,792.8979592 What are the benefits of following God? Here they are. 214 00:29:54,42.8979592 --> 00:29:58,682.8969592 He forgives you all your sins, and He heals all your diseases. 215 00:29:59,692.8979592 --> 00:30:00,742.8969592 Those two things. 216 00:30:00,952.8969592 --> 00:30:04,12.8969592 He forgives you, and He heals you. 217 00:30:05,902.8969592 --> 00:30:13,982.8959592 In Matthew chapter 9, we have the man that was lowered down through the roof to Jesus. 218 00:30:15,682.8979592 --> 00:30:25,612.8969592 And it says Jesus said, "Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.' 219 00:30:25,822.8979592 --> 00:30:30,442.8959592 So He said to the paralyzed man, 'Get up, take your mat and go home.' 220 00:30:30,982.8969592 --> 00:30:33,412.8969592 Then the man got up and went home." 221 00:30:33,792.8949592 --> 00:30:39,652.8979592 What did He do? He forgives you all your sins and heals your diseases. 222 00:30:41,62.8949592 --> 00:30:43,772.8989592 Why do we worship our Lord? Because that's who He is. 223 00:30:44,22.8979592 --> 00:30:45,342.8949592 That's who He's always been. 224 00:30:45,902.8959592 --> 00:30:47,602.8979592 That's who He'll always be. 225 00:30:50,562.8959592 --> 00:31:02,220.8959592 Why? Because of what it says in Romans 3, "But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known, in which the Law and the Prophets testify. 226 00:31:02,460.8959592 --> 00:31:06,990.8959592 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. 227 00:31:07,280.8959592 --> 00:31:18,150.8959592 There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 228 00:31:18,580.8959592 --> 00:31:25,780.8959592 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith." 229 00:31:28,364.8959592 --> 00:31:30,64.8959592 None of us deserve forgiveness. 230 00:31:30,484.8959592 --> 00:31:34,404.8959592 None of us deserve for this amazing God to come to our rescue. 231 00:31:36,600.8959592 --> 00:31:49,880.8959592 But when we put our trust in Him and say, "Lord, forgive me, a sinner," He forgives us because of Jesus and then runs to our rescue to help us. 232 00:31:52,514.8959592 --> 00:31:53,614.8959592 What an amazing God. 233 00:31:55,904.8959592 --> 00:32:11,34.8949592 We're not gonna be fools, are we? We're gonna worship the Lord because He's a marvelous creator, because He cares about us, because He hears and answers us, because He counsels us when we need counsel, because His law is so good and it protects us. 234 00:32:11,444.8959592 --> 00:32:18,34.8949592 And even when we fail in following that law, because of Jesus, He forgives us. 235 00:32:19,914.8949592 --> 00:32:21,194.8959592 We're not gonna be fools. 236 00:32:22,124.8959592 --> 00:32:27,644.8949592 We're gonna worship the Lord here tonight, and we have the opportunity to do it again in just a few minutes. 237 00:32:28,54.8949592 --> 00:32:28,464.8949592 Amen. 238 00:32:31,297.5646259 --> 00:32:32,947.5646259 You've been listening to a sermon from St. 239 00:32:32,947.5646259 --> 00:32:35,27.5646259 John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota. 240 00:32:35,347.5646259 --> 00:32:37,147.5646259 If you would like more information about St. 241 00:32:37,147.5646259 --> 00:32:42,807.5646259 John's and any of our ministries to our community and beyond, you can go to our website, www. 242 00:32:42,897.5646259 --> 00:32:43,137.5646259 stjohnsbuffalo. 243 00:32:44,377.5636259 --> 00:32:44,707.5636259 org. 244 00:32:45,87.5636259 --> 00:32:46,377.5646259 Thank you and God bless you.
Hello, this is Pastor Ryan Clark.
You are listening to a message from St.
John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota. 4 00:00:14,764.897959184 --> 00:00:19,194.897959184 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 5 00:00:19,844.897959184 --> 00:00:20,424.897959184 Amen. 6 00:00:21,904.897959184 --> 00:00:35,654.897959184 This week, I looked up biggest fools in the history of the world, and boy, there were a lot of people competing for biggest fools who have ever lived on the planet. 7 00:00:36,104.897959184 --> 00:00:41,604.897959184 But there were three that stood out to me that I'd like to share with you here tonight as we begin this message. 8 00:00:42,704.896959184 --> 00:00:49,94.895959184 During the Civil War, General John Sedgwick stood near the front lines. 9 00:00:49,534.896959184 --> 00:00:54,634.897959184 His men were all ducking for cover from Confederate snipers. 10 00:00:54,994.895959184 --> 00:01:01,184.896959184 He mocked his soldiers saying, "What are you hiding for? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." 11 00:01:02,114.898959184 --> 00:01:07,554.894959184 Just seconds after this proclamation, he got shot in the head and was killed. 12 00:01:09,274.897959184 --> 00:01:18,114.895959184 Then there was Alexander Bogdanov, who was a Russian revolutionary, who was obsessed with finding the cure for aging. 13 00:01:18,724.894959184 --> 00:01:24,744.892959184 His theory was that you could achieve immortality by swapping blood with other people. 14 00:01:25,544.898959184 --> 00:01:30,824.898959184 The first 11 transfusions went well, and he claimed he felt decades younger. 15 00:01:31,394.896959184 --> 00:01:41,304.89495918 But unfortunately, in his 12th transfusion in 1928, he swapped blood with someone who had malaria and tuberculosis. 16 00:01:41,684.89795918 --> 00:01:46,354.89395918 No surprise to anyone but perhaps him, he died shortly afterward. 17 00:01:47,244.89595918 --> 00:02:00,374.89295918 And finally, in 1859, Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits from Europe into the Australian wild because he wanted something familiar to hunt. 18 00:02:01,54.89295918 --> 00:02:07,394.89795918 He didn't think that such a small number of rabbits would make little difference to the Australian environment. 19 00:02:07,794.89895918 --> 00:02:10,714.89395918 He ended up being very wrong. 20 00:02:11,124.89295918 --> 00:02:18,804.89895918 Within a few years, the rabbit population grew from 24 rabbits to 600 million. 21 00:02:20,514.89295918 --> 00:02:30,184.89995918 The rabbits destroyed the local ecosystem and caused massive erosion and drove many of the native animals to extinction. 22 00:02:30,844.89395918 --> 00:02:39,224.89595918 And Australia is still fighting what happened in 1859 over 150 years later. 23 00:02:40,204.89495918 --> 00:02:50,844.89895918 I would say that probably these three people are fighting for the designation of biggest fool who has ever lived on the planet. 24 00:02:52,444.89995918 --> 00:03:06,154.89095918 But as we continue our study of cover to cover, as we are literally going from Genesis through the book of Revelation, the Bible tells us who's the biggest fool of all. 25 00:03:08,546.89795918 --> 00:03:16,636.89795918 In Psalm 14 it says, "The fool is the one who says in his heart there is no God." 26 00:03:19,244.89795918 --> 00:03:30,234.89695918 We heard some pretty foolish things at the beginning of this message, but the biggest fool of all is the one who says there is no God. 27 00:03:32,258.89795918 --> 00:03:56,296.89795918 If you look up fool in the dictionary, it says a person who acts unwisely, a silly person So who is the unwise person? Who's the one that is just downright silly, shouldn't be taken seriously? It's the person who says there is no God. 28 00:03:59,648.89795918 --> 00:04:05,908.89795918 Now, the Psalms that we're going to be looking at here today were written by David. 29 00:04:07,588.89795918 --> 00:04:11,998.89795918 In Psalm 9, David, just the opposite, says, "I'm no fool. 30 00:04:12,578.89795918 --> 00:04:17,208.89695918 Not only do I believe that there's a God, but I'm gonna worship that God." 31 00:04:17,358.89795918 --> 00:04:20,598.89695918 He says, "I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart. 32 00:04:21,238.89695918 --> 00:04:24,718.89795918 I will tell people of all your wonderful deeds. 33 00:04:24,918.89695918 --> 00:04:27,58.89695918 I will be glad and rejoice in you. 34 00:04:27,58.89695918 --> 00:04:31,248.89695918 I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High." 35 00:04:32,828.89695918 --> 00:04:38,418.89795918 So David says, "I'm gonna give thanks to you for all the good things in my life. 36 00:04:38,968.89595918 --> 00:04:42,858.89795918 I'm gonna tell people about all the wonderful things that you do. 37 00:04:43,438.89795918 --> 00:04:55,498.89495918 I'm gonna be glad, I'm gonna rejoice, and I'm gonna sing your praises because not only are you real, but you're a good and gracious God." 38 00:04:57,922.89795918 --> 00:05:27,922.89795918 And it got me thinking, why do we worship God? Why do we gather here every week to worship Him? Why do we sing these songs? Why does a band come up every Saturday night and practice and then lead the people in worship? Well, from the Psalms that you read this past week in our Cover to Cover study, I picked out six reasons that you and I are to worship our God. 39 00:05:29,92.89795918 --> 00:05:30,132.89795918 We're no fools. 40 00:05:30,932.89595918 --> 00:05:37,642.89695918 We worship the Lord because number one, He's a marvelous creator. 41 00:05:39,352.89795918 --> 00:05:42,952.89595918 We worship God because He's a marvelous creator. 42 00:05:44,192.89795918 --> 00:05:53,202.89495918 In Psalm 19 it says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the works of His hands." 43 00:05:53,722.89695918 --> 00:06:12,642.89695918 We live in a day and age when we're always looking down at our phones, but if you put those phones away and look up into the sky, it's magnificent, isn't it? In fact, the psalmist here is saying that when you look up, it's practically screaming at you that there's a God. 44 00:06:13,602.89795918 --> 00:06:24,302.89795918 It's screaming at you that He is a powerful and artistic maker It says, "The heavens declare the glory of God. 45 00:06:24,332.89795918 --> 00:06:26,962.89795918 The skies proclaim the work of His hands. 46 00:06:27,292.89795918 --> 00:06:30,72.89795918 Day after day, they pour forth speech. 47 00:06:30,272.89795918 --> 00:06:32,692.89695918 Night after night, they reveal knowledge. 48 00:06:32,882.89795918 --> 00:06:44,432.89695918 They have no speech, they use no words, no sound is heard from them, yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." 49 00:06:46,402.89795918 --> 00:06:49,842.89795918 The person that says there is no God is a fool. 50 00:06:49,842.89795918 --> 00:06:56,862.89795918 Why? Because all of creation is screaming out, "There's a God." 51 00:07:00,492.89795918 --> 00:07:12,332.89695918 We've had the opportunity to travel all around this country, and there are some beautiful landscapes, aren't there? Absolutely beautiful. 52 00:07:12,482.89795918 --> 00:07:20,522.89795918 When we lived out in New York, you had those purple mountain majesty going on out there. 53 00:07:21,102.89695918 --> 00:07:27,112.89795918 And then you come to the Midwest, and you've got all of the beautiful lakes and the sunsets. 54 00:07:27,712.89795918 --> 00:07:31,2.89795918 Wherever you go, you have these beautiful landscapes. 55 00:07:31,132.89795918 --> 00:07:34,192.89795918 Where did that come from? From God. 56 00:07:35,592.89895918 --> 00:07:38,772.89795918 He's an outstanding creator. 57 00:07:40,422.89695918 --> 00:07:41,92.89795918 Think about it. 58 00:07:41,172.89695918 --> 00:07:52,392.89595918 He could have made everything gray and flat, and we wouldn't know the difference, but He made it beautiful, colorful. 59 00:07:54,142.89795918 --> 00:07:58,862.89595918 He's a magnificent creator, and He's worthy of our praise. 60 00:08:00,152.89595918 --> 00:08:11,802.89795918 Now, there are some that would look at this stuff, they would look up in the sky, they would look at the landscapes, and they would say, "Oh, it's all done by natural processes over millions and millions of years." 61 00:08:11,852.89295918 --> 00:08:17,892.89395918 But can you honestly look at any of these things up here on the screen and say, "No, it doesn't have a maker. 62 00:08:18,62.89995918 --> 00:08:32,808.89795918 It was here by random chance"? Can you imagine finding a guitar out in the middle of a forest and going, "Wow, look at what millions of years have done"? Or a cell phone or a watch. 63 00:08:33,398.89795918 --> 00:08:39,318.89795918 Nobody's saying over millions and millions of years, "Look at what nature did." 64 00:08:41,580.89795918 --> 00:08:55,760.89795918 How much less so should we say that about a baby? For as amazing as a guitar and a computer and a cellphone and a watch are, we are spectacular. 65 00:08:56,350.89795918 --> 00:09:17,258.89795918 As David says, and we're going to be reading more of his Psalms later, he says, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made," he says in Psalm 1:39 See why David would say anyone who says that there is no God that's behind all this is crazy. 66 00:09:21,714.89795918 --> 00:09:33,964.89795918 Have you ever thought about the eye, the human eye or the human ear? There are so many little intricate parts that all have to work perfectly together, otherwise it doesn't work. 67 00:09:35,784.89795918 --> 00:09:42,404.89795918 There's an argument that creationists have used for many years called irreducible complexity. 68 00:09:43,124.89795918 --> 00:09:59,904.89795918 That means that, like the ear, the human ear is so complex, but if one little thing was just a hair, not what it is, the whole thing, the whole- the whole thing would not work. 69 00:10:00,944.89595918 --> 00:10:04,184.89795918 Everything is exactly the way it is. 70 00:10:04,314.89795918 --> 00:10:27,796.89795918 And so the idea that we've evolved over millions and millions of years, that would mean that over millions of years, there would be people and animals that probably couldn't see or probably couldn't hear until it evolved to that place where it is today. 71 00:10:28,496.89795918 --> 00:10:34,426.89795918 Well, that doesn't make any sense, and that is certainly not what the Bible says. 72 00:10:36,236.89695918 --> 00:10:38,796.89795918 And then of course, there's DNA. 73 00:10:40,196.89795918 --> 00:10:47,836.89795918 Over the last 100 to 150 years, we've come to understand more of what DNA is. 74 00:10:48,886.89695918 --> 00:10:53,296.89695918 And you know what DNA is? It's a set of instructions. 75 00:10:54,236.89695918 --> 00:11:25,74.89795918 For those men out here that may not read instructions, what instructions are, if your child gets a complex toy, it usually comes with some instructions that you've got to open up and read, right? And it tells you how step by step to put it together When people discovered DNA, they realized, wow, that is a set of very complex instructions. 76 00:11:25,684.89795918 --> 00:11:32,864.89695918 In each strand of DNA, there is the equivalent of eight thousand books of information. 77 00:11:34,334.89795918 --> 00:11:38,834.89695918 In every single strand, in every single cell. 78 00:11:39,4.89795918 --> 00:11:43,414.89795918 And you know how many cells we have in our body? About thirty trillion. 79 00:11:48,130.89795918 --> 00:11:54,680.89795918 Francis Crick, one of the co-discoverers of DNA, he was not open to a God. 80 00:11:54,850.89795918 --> 00:12:04,240.89795918 But look at this interesting quote, "Biologists must constantly keep in mind what they see was not designed but evolved." 81 00:12:05,20.89695918 --> 00:12:13,510.89795918 In other words, he said, "You know what? When we look at DNA, it looks like there was a creator. 82 00:12:13,730.89595918 --> 00:12:20,700.89895918 It looks like someone wrote these instructions, so we have to constantly remind ourselves that it wasn't written down, it evolved." 83 00:12:22,540.89795918 --> 00:12:29,660.89695918 And my response to that is, is if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck, right? Quack, quack. 84 00:12:34,860.89795918 --> 00:12:48,586.89795918 Once again, with all the information that we have about creation For a person to say there is no God, David would say they're a fool. 85 00:12:51,468.89795918 --> 00:12:52,678.89795918 Theologian R.C. 86 00:12:52,688.89795918 --> 00:12:55,538.89795918 Sproul put it this way, and I like this quote. 87 00:12:55,798.89795918 --> 00:13:01,488.89695918 He says, "What are the chances of the universe being created by chance? Not a chance." 88 00:13:02,768.89695918 --> 00:13:03,418.89795918 Not a chance. 89 00:13:06,122.89795918 --> 00:13:07,42.89795918 We're no fools. 90 00:13:07,432.89795918 --> 00:13:13,372.89795918 We worship the Lord because number one, He's a marvelous creator, and He is. 91 00:13:13,922.89795918 --> 00:13:17,792.89695918 But that's not the only reason that we gather together to worship Him. 92 00:13:18,12.89695918 --> 00:13:24,322.89695918 Number two, we worship the Lord because He actually cares about us. 93 00:13:25,992.89795918 --> 00:13:37,502.89595918 Even though He's so big, He's so marvelous, He's done so many amazing things in landscapes, in the skies, and the universe, but He cares about you and me. 94 00:13:38,832.89695918 --> 00:13:46,342.89795918 In our highlighted verse for today, it's from Psalm 8, and you can hear David, "Wow, God, You're amazing. 95 00:13:46,962.89495918 --> 00:14:31,718.89695918 And when I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have all set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?" Lord, what is it about us that you being so great would care about little old me? Have you ever thought about how small you are? How small I am? Not only can they not see any one of us from a space shuttle, they can't see any one of us from a plane. 96 00:14:33,18.89695918 --> 00:14:40,778.89695918 We're so small on this earth, and we are here today and gone tomorrow. 97 00:14:40,938.89695918 --> 00:14:42,198.89695918 We're just a breath. 98 00:14:46,580.89695918 --> 00:14:57,500.89595918 David says, "What are we that you would be mindful of us? That you would care about us? But you are. 99 00:14:58,180.89595918 --> 00:14:59,750.89595918 You are mindful of us. 100 00:14:59,880.89595918 --> 00:15:02,380.89695918 You do care for us." 101 00:15:03,210.89595918 --> 00:15:07,470.89695918 In fact, in 1 Peter 5 it says, "Cast all your cares on Him." 102 00:15:07,470.89695918 --> 00:15:24,46.89695918 Why? Because magnificent, holy, amazing God cares for you That's why we can cast our cares on Him, because He actually cares about us. 103 00:15:25,216.89695918 --> 00:15:27,786.89695918 We worship the Lord because He's a marvelous creator. 104 00:15:27,956.89595918 --> 00:15:30,456.89695918 We worship the Lord because He cares about us. 105 00:15:30,506.89695918 --> 00:15:37,796.89595918 Number three, we worship the Lord because He hears and answers us when we call out to Him. 106 00:15:39,646.89695918 --> 00:15:55,446.89695918 In Psalm 10, David says, "Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourselves in times of trouble?" Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you're in the midst of a really difficult thing in your life and you're calling out to God, and it seems like He's absent. 107 00:15:56,146.89695918 --> 00:15:57,826.89595918 It seems like He's not there. 108 00:15:57,846.89795918 --> 00:15:59,246.89695918 He's not answering. 109 00:16:01,352.89695918 --> 00:16:05,332.89695918 One of the reasons I love the Psalms is because they're just so honest. 110 00:16:06,392.89695918 --> 00:16:07,392.89695918 They're so honest. 111 00:16:08,132.89695918 --> 00:16:17,104.89695918 And at the beginning of Psalm 10, he says, "Where are you?" And then in verse 12 he says, "Arise, Lord. 112 00:16:17,184.89695918 --> 00:16:18,574.89695918 Lift up your hand, O God. 113 00:16:18,614.89695918 --> 00:16:20,304.89695918 Don't forget the helpless." 114 00:16:21,254.89695918 --> 00:16:30,220.89695918 In other words, don't forget me It starts out, "Where are you?" But by the end of Psalm 10, look at where he's at. 115 00:16:31,390.89695918 --> 00:16:42,0.8969592 "You, Lord, You hear the desire of the afflicted, You encourage them and You listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed." 116 00:16:44,84.8969592 --> 00:16:47,274.8969592 By the end of the psalm, he's saying, "You do listen. 117 00:16:48,424.8969592 --> 00:16:50,574.8969592 Sometimes it feels like you're not. 118 00:16:50,734.8969592 --> 00:16:58,174.8959592 Sometimes I wonder where are you?" But by the end of the psalm, he says with great faith, "You do. 119 00:17:00,14.8959592 --> 00:17:00,534.8959592 You do." 120 00:17:02,24.8979592 --> 00:17:08,164.8969592 In Psalm 9 it says, "The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 121 00:17:08,444.8959592 --> 00:17:15,474.8969592 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you." 122 00:17:18,900.8969592 --> 00:17:26,950.8969592 Boy, you got to love that word never, huh? He's never forsaken those who say, "I'm gonna seek you until I find you." 123 00:17:29,12.8969592 --> 00:17:32,672.8969592 So you know what He's inviting us to do? Seek Him. 124 00:17:34,202.8969592 --> 00:17:45,222.8969592 If you're in a bad place, if you're struggling with something in your life, seek Him because He's never forsaken anyone who has sought Him like that. 125 00:17:49,534.8969592 --> 00:18:08,158.8969592 How can you and I be sure that if we seek Him, we're gonna find Him? How can we be sure that God, who's holy and otherworldly, how can I be sure that my prayer's gonna get to Him? As Christians, we know how. 126 00:18:08,508.8969592 --> 00:18:18,418.8969592 In John 14, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life, and no one gets to the Father except through me." 127 00:18:19,28.8969592 --> 00:18:35,168.8969592 That's why Jesus came here to this earth, to bring us back to God so that my prayers would get through to Him, so that He could talk back to me, so that when I need Him, my prayer gets through. 128 00:18:35,328.8959592 --> 00:18:37,118.8959592 He can talk back to me. 129 00:18:37,138.8969592 --> 00:18:39,788.8979592 He can help me in my time of need. 130 00:18:39,908.8979592 --> 00:18:42,18.8959592 That's what Jesus is all about. 131 00:18:42,228.8969592 --> 00:18:43,898.8969592 This is why Jesus came. 132 00:18:44,498.8979592 --> 00:18:55,318.8969592 Our sin had separated us from Him But through the perfect life and the death and resurrection of Jesus, he brought us back to our God. 133 00:18:58,112.8969592 --> 00:18:58,382.8969592 St. 134 00:18:58,382.8969592 --> 00:19:14,112.8969592 Paul puts it this way in his first letter to Timothy, "For there is one God and there's one mediator between God and mankind, and that is the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people." 135 00:19:14,782.8969592 --> 00:19:16,782.8969592 You and I, we needed a mediator. 136 00:19:16,782.8969592 --> 00:19:26,642.8969592 We needed someone to take us and pull us together, and that's what Jesus did through his life, death, and resurrection for us. 137 00:19:28,312.8959592 --> 00:19:35,22.8969592 We worship the Lord because he's a marvelous creator, because he cares for us, because he hears and answers us. 138 00:19:35,22.8969592 --> 00:19:40,652.8949592 Number four, we worship the Lord because he counsels us. 139 00:19:42,22.8969592 --> 00:19:51,252.8939592 In Psalm 16, David writes, "I will praise the Lord who counsels me, and even at night my heart instructs me." 140 00:19:54,944.8969592 --> 00:20:08,336.8969592 You ever need counsel? Do you ever need wisdom? You can have it because you have a God who has promised to counsel those who ask. 141 00:20:09,196.8969592 --> 00:20:13,456.8969592 In John 14, Jesus said, "All this I've spoken while still with you. 142 00:20:13,746.8959592 --> 00:20:24,846.8969592 But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of every wise thing that I have said to you." 143 00:20:26,76.8959592 --> 00:20:35,666.8969592 Jesus was taugh- saying to his disciples, "You know, while I'm here, I can counsel you, but I'm about ready to go to heaven. 144 00:20:36,616.8949592 --> 00:20:39,126.8959592 But I'm not gonna leave you without a counselor. 145 00:20:39,756.8949592 --> 00:20:54,446.8969592 I'm gonna give you a counselor that's actually even gonna be closer to you than I am, because he's gonna live inside of you, and you can call out to that counselor at any time for counsel, and he'll give it to you." 146 00:20:55,716.8979592 --> 00:20:57,36.8949592 That's the Holy Spirit. 147 00:20:58,836.8969592 --> 00:21:09,896.8949592 In James 1, he puts it this way: "If any one of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." 148 00:21:11,36.8969592 --> 00:21:33,364.8969592 So if you ask for wisdom, you say, "Holy Spirit, I need counsel in this situation that I'm in in my life," the Holy Spirit is never gonna take into account the dumb thing that you did that day He's gonna give generously without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 149 00:21:34,454.8969592 --> 00:21:46,268.8969592 For that, He is worthy of our praise One of the ways that the Holy Spirit gives that counsel is through the Bible. 150 00:21:46,668.8969592 --> 00:22:02,78.8969592 Look at what it says in 2 Timothy 3, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 151 00:22:03,508.8969592 --> 00:22:12,668.8969592 God uses those eternal words on the pages of our Bible to speak directly to us by His Holy Spirit. 152 00:22:13,708.8949592 --> 00:22:20,948.8949592 This is why we're reading the Bible over these two years, because it's unlike any other book that you've ever read. 153 00:22:21,288.8969592 --> 00:22:38,728.8969592 It has living words on the page that our amazing God can take right off the page and speak right to you the wisdom and counsel that you need for whatever's going on in your life Number five, we're no fools. 154 00:22:39,88.8969592 --> 00:22:43,828.8969592 We worship the Lord because His law protects us. 155 00:22:46,36.8969592 --> 00:22:52,466.8969592 Look at what it says in Psalm 19, "The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. 156 00:22:52,656.8969592 --> 00:22:56,546.8969592 The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 157 00:22:56,856.8969592 --> 00:23:00,506.8959592 The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. 158 00:23:00,746.8969592 --> 00:23:03,956.8959592 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold. 159 00:23:04,346.8969592 --> 00:23:07,466.8969592 They are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. 160 00:23:08,46.8959592 --> 00:23:13,256.8969592 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward." 161 00:23:14,346.8969592 --> 00:23:20,756.8949592 Look at how glowingly David is speaking about God's law. 162 00:23:21,126.8979592 --> 00:23:31,380.8969592 I wonder how many of us look at God's law that way? I think most of the time we probably look at the law as the opposite of the gospel. 163 00:23:31,380.8969592 --> 00:23:34,180.8969592 The gospel's the good news, the law's the bad news. 164 00:23:35,220.8969592 --> 00:23:36,770.8969592 And to a certain point it is. 165 00:23:36,770.8969592 --> 00:23:43,660.8959592 When the law points at us and says, "You're a sinner and you need a savior," that is kinda bad news for us. 166 00:23:43,670.8959592 --> 00:23:46,50.8959592 The good news is Jesus is our savior. 167 00:23:46,810.8969592 --> 00:23:49,620.8959592 But the law in and of itself is not bad. 168 00:23:50,310.8969592 --> 00:23:52,120.8959592 In fact, it's wonderful. 169 00:23:52,120.8959592 --> 00:23:53,390.8959592 That's what he's saying here. 170 00:23:53,640.8969592 --> 00:23:55,720.8959592 The law of the Lord is perfect. 171 00:23:55,950.8959592 --> 00:23:59,210.8969592 Why? Because it keeps us out of trouble. 172 00:24:00,30.8939592 --> 00:24:20,760.8959592 You know, life is hard enough the way it is without making a whole bunch of foolish decisions that are gonna make it even harder, right? And so God in His love for us has given His law in the Bible to help us know right from wrong, to help us know what we should do and what we shouldn't do. 173 00:24:21,470.8969592 --> 00:24:25,470.8959592 And when we follow it, it's like a warning to us. 174 00:24:26,170.8939592 --> 00:24:34,420.8939592 And in keeping it, it keeps us from going through some of the trials that we see our neighbors and, and friends going through. 175 00:24:37,190.8979592 --> 00:24:58,970.8979592 In Deuteronomy 10 it says, "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I'm giving you today," and here's the important words, "for your own good." 176 00:24:59,730.8969592 --> 00:25:30,66.8979592 Why did God give us His law? Not because He was trying to prove that He's God and we're not Because He loves us and He wants us to keep from going through unnecessary trials in our life and heartbreak That's why He's given us His law for our own good Finally, number six. 177 00:25:30,826.8979592 --> 00:25:31,706.8979592 We're no fools. 178 00:25:31,706.8979592 --> 00:25:38,576.8979592 We worship the Lord, and most importantly, because He forgives us when we fail. 179 00:25:39,806.8979592 --> 00:25:48,626.8979592 So He's given us this amazing law to keep us on the right track, but we all fall. 180 00:25:49,266.8969592 --> 00:25:50,276.8979592 We all fail. 181 00:25:51,186.8969592 --> 00:25:59,396.8969592 We all rebel against that law from time to time, and when we do, we need forgiveness. 182 00:26:00,776.8969592 --> 00:26:10,526.8989592 And the last and most important reason that we see in these Psalms for why we worship the Lord is because He forgives us whenever we fail. 183 00:26:11,696.8969592 --> 00:26:12,866.8979592 Look at Psalm 14. 184 00:26:12,876.8979592 --> 00:26:20,606.8969592 It says, "The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there is any who understand, any who seek God." 185 00:26:21,626.8979592 --> 00:26:24,766.8959592 And what did He find? "All have turned away. 186 00:26:25,106.8969592 --> 00:26:26,706.8969592 All have become corrupt. 187 00:26:26,846.8949592 --> 00:26:30,956.8959592 There is no one who does good, not even one." 188 00:26:32,436.8949592 --> 00:26:50,86.8949592 What does that word all mean? It means all, doesn't it? It means every single person that has ever lived on this planet, say Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a fallen human being, is a rebel against God. 189 00:26:50,466.8939592 --> 00:26:51,726.8949592 All have turned away. 190 00:26:51,996.8929592 --> 00:26:54,706.8959592 All have become corrupt. 191 00:26:58,224.8979592 --> 00:27:14,254.8979592 Once again, back to that picture of how small we are, how tiny we are, how seemingly insignificant we are, how we're just a breath, we're here today and gone tomorrow, and then add to that, that we're a bunch of rebels. 192 00:27:16,74.8969592 --> 00:27:22,544.8979592 Why would God want anything to do with us? But he does. 193 00:27:24,384.8979592 --> 00:27:41,114.8969592 In Psalm 1:30 it says, "If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?" If God kept a record of every time in your life or in my life that we've rebelled against him, there's not a single person in here that wouldn't be down on your face. 194 00:27:42,734.8979592 --> 00:27:54,406.8979592 We have all failed over and over and over again But with you, there is forgiveness. 195 00:27:55,166.8979592 --> 00:28:03,666.8979592 Isn't that wonderful? Forgiveness means that God washes our record clean. 196 00:28:06,758.8979592 --> 00:28:12,418.8979592 In Psalm 6 it says, "Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. 197 00:28:12,578.8979592 --> 00:28:14,668.8979592 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I'm faint. 198 00:28:14,678.8979592 --> 00:28:17,798.8969592 Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony." 199 00:28:19,318.8979592 --> 00:28:30,422.8979592 He understood that there was a connection between my sin and what I'm going through And he says, "Forgive me. 200 00:28:30,432.8979592 --> 00:28:31,292.8979592 Heal me. 201 00:28:33,330.8979592 --> 00:28:39,210.8979592 But once again, by the end of the Psalm, what does he say? "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy. 202 00:28:39,670.8979592 --> 00:28:42,590.8979592 The Lord accepts my prayer." 203 00:28:43,560.8979592 --> 00:28:51,214.8979592 Isn't that amazing? From time to time, I hear people say things to me like this, and I just heard it this week. 204 00:28:51,444.8979592 --> 00:28:57,534.8979592 Someone said, "I must have done something really bad to have the situation that I'm going through." 205 00:28:59,234.8979592 --> 00:29:05,264.8979592 My answer to that is, not everything bad that you and I go through is because of something we did. 206 00:29:06,854.8969592 --> 00:29:14,744.8969592 A lot of times it's the fact that we live in a sinful world and we're sinners ourself. 207 00:29:16,906.8979592 --> 00:29:21,526.8979592 And we all go through times of trial in our lives. 208 00:29:21,836.8979592 --> 00:29:32,786.8979592 But whatever the reason is that we're going through a trial, God has promised to come to forgive us and to help us. 209 00:29:33,196.8979592 --> 00:29:41,442.8979592 That's why we have a healing service here tonight In Psalm 103, these are my favorite verses in the whole Bible. 210 00:29:41,442.8979592 --> 00:29:43,662.8979592 It says, "Praise the Lord, my soul. 211 00:29:43,902.8979592 --> 00:29:46,552.8979592 All my inmost being, praise His holy name. 212 00:29:46,782.8979592 --> 00:29:50,82.8969592 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits." 213 00:29:50,172.8979592 --> 00:29:53,792.8979592 What are the benefits of following God? Here they are. 214 00:29:54,42.8979592 --> 00:29:58,682.8969592 He forgives you all your sins, and He heals all your diseases. 215 00:29:59,692.8979592 --> 00:30:00,742.8969592 Those two things. 216 00:30:00,952.8969592 --> 00:30:04,12.8969592 He forgives you, and He heals you. 217 00:30:05,902.8969592 --> 00:30:13,982.8959592 In Matthew chapter 9, we have the man that was lowered down through the roof to Jesus. 218 00:30:15,682.8979592 --> 00:30:25,612.8969592 And it says Jesus said, "Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.' 219 00:30:25,822.8979592 --> 00:30:30,442.8959592 So He said to the paralyzed man, 'Get up, take your mat and go home.' 220 00:30:30,982.8969592 --> 00:30:33,412.8969592 Then the man got up and went home." 221 00:30:33,792.8949592 --> 00:30:39,652.8979592 What did He do? He forgives you all your sins and heals your diseases. 222 00:30:41,62.8949592 --> 00:30:43,772.8989592 Why do we worship our Lord? Because that's who He is. 223 00:30:44,22.8979592 --> 00:30:45,342.8949592 That's who He's always been. 224 00:30:45,902.8959592 --> 00:30:47,602.8979592 That's who He'll always be. 225 00:30:50,562.8959592 --> 00:31:02,220.8959592 Why? Because of what it says in Romans 3, "But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known, in which the Law and the Prophets testify. 226 00:31:02,460.8959592 --> 00:31:06,990.8959592 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. 227 00:31:07,280.8959592 --> 00:31:18,150.8959592 There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 228 00:31:18,580.8959592 --> 00:31:25,780.8959592 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith." 229 00:31:28,364.8959592 --> 00:31:30,64.8959592 None of us deserve forgiveness. 230 00:31:30,484.8959592 --> 00:31:34,404.8959592 None of us deserve for this amazing God to come to our rescue. 231 00:31:36,600.8959592 --> 00:31:49,880.8959592 But when we put our trust in Him and say, "Lord, forgive me, a sinner," He forgives us because of Jesus and then runs to our rescue to help us. 232 00:31:52,514.8959592 --> 00:31:53,614.8959592 What an amazing God. 233 00:31:55,904.8959592 --> 00:32:11,34.8949592 We're not gonna be fools, are we? We're gonna worship the Lord because He's a marvelous creator, because He cares about us, because He hears and answers us, because He counsels us when we need counsel, because His law is so good and it protects us. 234 00:32:11,444.8959592 --> 00:32:18,34.8949592 And even when we fail in following that law, because of Jesus, He forgives us. 235 00:32:19,914.8949592 --> 00:32:21,194.8959592 We're not gonna be fools. 236 00:32:22,124.8959592 --> 00:32:27,644.8949592 We're gonna worship the Lord here tonight, and we have the opportunity to do it again in just a few minutes. 237 00:32:28,54.8949592 --> 00:32:28,464.8949592 Amen. 238 00:32:31,297.5646259 --> 00:32:32,947.5646259 You've been listening to a sermon from St. 239 00:32:32,947.5646259 --> 00:32:35,27.5646259 John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota. 240 00:32:35,347.5646259 --> 00:32:37,147.5646259 If you would like more information about St. 241 00:32:37,147.5646259 --> 00:32:42,807.5646259 John's and any of our ministries to our community and beyond, you can go to our website, www. 242 00:32:42,897.5646259 --> 00:32:43,137.5646259 stjohnsbuffalo. 243 00:32:44,377.5636259 --> 00:32:44,707.5636259 org. 244 00:32:45,87.5636259 --> 00:32:46,377.5646259 Thank you and God bless you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com