Bunbury
Sun am
21/08/2011
“A Great Sunday service”
Intro: What are the components of a great Sunday service?
Pastors have a bit of a tradition of the Monday morning autopsy.
How was Sunday services? Great ….. I preached on …… 2 saved, everyone came to church!
Let me tell you that’s a rarer report than you can imagine!
Quite often it’s a matter of I preached, God was stirring me about the message but …..
Often seems as though the stirring from God doesn’t match / correlate w/ the stirring of the people’s hearts.
There’s no doubt about the fact that we can’t live & die after each Sunday.
Otherwise you might have to raise your pastor from the dead several times a year after the weekend.
But I do believe that there are a number of components that add to / constitute a good service where God comes down, a rhema is ministered & people leave church knowing that God met w/ them.
A great Sunday service is not just a service where people say – praise God that’s it for another Sunday but when God’s people leave in triumph knowing God came down & met w/ them.
So let’s consider some of the elements of a great Sunday service.
My message this morning is entitled ‘A great Sunday service’.
Text: Ezra 10:1-12 ( GWT ) 1While Ezra was praying, confessing these sins, crying, and throwing himself down in front of God’s temple, a large crowd of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. They also began to cry bitterly. 2Then Secaniah, son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, interrupted by saying to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women who came from the people around us. However, there is still hope for Israel. 3So we must now make a promise to our God to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them, as my lord Ezra and the others who tremble at the commandments of our God have advised us to do. We must do what Moses’ Teachings tell us. 4Get up! It’s your duty to take action. We are with you, so be strong and take action.” 5Then Ezra got up and made the leaders, priests, Levites, and all the rest of Israel swear to do what they had said. So they took an oath. 6Then Ezra left the front of God’s temple and went to the room of Jehohanan, son of Eliashib. Ezra didn’t eat any food or drink any water while he was there. He was mourning because these former exiles had been so unfaithful. 7Then he sent a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the former exiles must gather in Jerusalem. 8If any of them didn’t come within three days as the leaders and the older men had advised, then they would lose all their property and be excluded from the community of former exiles. 9Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered within three days in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the courtyard of God’s temple. They were trembling because of this matter and shivering because of the heavy rain. 10Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, and now you have added to Israel’s guilt. 11Confess to the LORD God of your ancestors what you have done, and do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of this land and from your foreign wives.” 12Then the whole assembly shouted in reply, “Yes! We will do as you say.
# 1. The preparation for the sermon.
A. Here we see Ezra in sermon preparation mode.
a. Here is the man of God w/ a message from God stirring in his heart.
i. And its obviously a heavy message that God is dealing w/ him about preaching …..
Vs 1. 1While Ezra was praying, confessing these sins, crying, and throwing himself down in front of God’s temple, ….
*** 2½ year old JL came running out of the nursery screaming this morning & fell on his face on the carpet continuing to scream. What ails him so? The big issue was that he had to go into nursery!!!
I have to admit it was hilarious!
But we all know that it’s a different thing when a grown man behaves like that!!!
ii. This is something like what we saw Ezra doing in our text. Wait troubles him so? …… What aileth thee Ezra? Man! What is it about Sunday’s sermon?
iii. Maybe he’s wrestling w/ some tough things he has to preach in Sunday service!!!
iv. But the truth is that is going to be what’s happening in the preacher b/4 Sunday service ….. in any gospel preaching church!
v. He’s wrestling w/ some things that aren’t going to be easy to preach / challenge the people w/.
b. But there’s something often missed here in the idea of sermon preparation, look at….
Vs 1. ….. a large crowd of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. They also began to cry bitterly
i. What we see here is that sermon preparation doesn’t just happen in the heart of the pastor – it also happens in the hearts of the people!
ii. Our text shows us that there was not only preparation going on in the pastor’s heart but it was also going on in the people’s hearts.
iii. This is what saves us from dead, boring, lifeless Sunday sermons ….. a preparation in your own heart!
*** I once got feedback from someone about one of my less than fantastic sermons. The guy in question told his wife that it was just a boring sermon!
Hmmm …… well he might have been right, others told me differently.
But the question I ask is this – how much sermon preparation was going on in his heart?
B/c when our hearts are prepared to hear from God He can use anything to speak to us!
Numbers 22:28 ( NKJV ) 28Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
c. Get my point? God can use just about anything to speak to us if there is a willingness to hear from Him.
i. Therefore sermon preparation is a two way partnership – a partnership between the man of God delivering the Word of God & the people of God preparing their hearts to receive from God.
ii. Think about this next time you come to church tired from staying up too late / distracted by other preoccupations or just generally disinterested …..
iii. You are going to get out of the Sunday service not just according to the pastor’s preparation but according to your own preparation!
B. How much time do you take to prepare for Sunday morning service?
a. Think about it! If I came to church on Sunday morning & you knew that I only spent 15 mins getting ready (&I can assure you I spend a whole lot more) you’d be offended!
i. Some of you would think – I’ve been ripped off! …. & you’d be right!
ii. Some of you would think – He doesn’t care about me! ….. & you’d probably be justified in saying that!
iii. Some of you would think – He’s not really feeding us! …… again, correct!
iv. Some of you would say on your way home from church – how are we supposed to survive! ….. true!
v. Some would even think maybe we ought to begin looking for another church? …… I couldn’t blame you!
b. But let me turn the spotlight around …… let’s ask what God might think about the very little preparation in your heart.
i. Now of course we thank God for the man who comes into church w/ the same spirit that David came into the house of God ….
Psalms 122:1 ( NKJV ) 1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
ii. But on the other hand….. God could say, I have given a message to my servant but they weren’t even interested! ….. & He’d be right!
iii. God could say they don’t care about me when they come completely unprepared to hear from Me! ….. & He’d be justified in saying that!
iv. God could say ….. I’ve invited them to the feast but they haven’t come! ….. again correct!
v. God could say …. How are they going to survive? …. True!
vi. God could even say …. Maybe I need to look for other people! ….. we couldn’t blame Him!
c. You see for any sermon to be a success there has to be sermon preparation not just by the pastor who delivers the sermon but by the people who receive the sermon!
# 2. Missiles of truth!
A. If a great Sunday depends on a great sermon & sermon preparation then a great sermon depends on missiles of truth being launched during the sermon.
a. What we see here is that Ezra, the preacher, has loaded his message up w/ some missiles of truth.
Vs 2. 2Then Secaniah, son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, interrupted by saying to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women who came from the people around us.
i. There are enemies amongst the people ….. The enemy remains to this day – the enemy is sin!
ii. And in case you don’t know & haven’t given it any thought – Sin comes to church every Sunday & has to be driven out from amongst God’s people.
iii. For this enemy to be routed it has to be continually bombarded by missiles of truth.
iv. Statements of truth / words of truth / Scriptures that expose the truth being rained down upon the enemy w/I our midst.
*** During WWII in PNG as the Australian troops were involved in engaging the Japanese in Milne Bay & some of the regions along the North coast, the Australian troops began to realise that if they waited for all the artillery fire to cease that the Japanese in machine gun bunkers would quickly rally w/I seconds of the bombardment & man the machine guns again & take out more Australian troops as they tried to advance.
They discovered a way of advancing while still under bombardment from their own artillery. Realising that the artillery shells were mostly landing in mud …… & although making a thunderous noise – most of the impact from the shell was being absorbed by the mud & causing no real damage. There was of course a serious concussion brought down w/ the shell but not much collateral damage.
So the Australian troops realised that the only way to defeat the enemy was to advance & get right amongst the bombardment from their own guns! By doing this they were able to take out enemy Japanese machine gun bunkers b/4 they could recover from the bombardment.
b. A good message, is where God’s bringing deliverance / breaking bondages / defeating the enemy’s power & releasing the captives.
i. And to be able to do this it essentially has to be loaded up w/ missiles of truth.
ii. A good message will often seem like a bombardment!
iii. To be able to root out the enemy some of these missiles have to land real close to where you live!
iv. They have to sometimes get real personal!
v. Think about it! Ezra has been dealing w/ them about marriage / family / relationships that are outside the will of God!
Vs 2. “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women
c. It’s that Bombardment that loosens up the enemy w/I our midst & brings about the very thing needed to root out the enemy – confession of sin!
Vs 2. “We have been unfaithful to our God ……
B. You’ve got to u/s that missiles of truth will sometimes divide people ….. & remember that’s what the gospel does – it divides!
a. Listen to what Jesus says here …..
Matthew 10:34-36 ( NKJV ) 34“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
i. Remember the word of God is likened to a sword & swords have a habit of dividing things.
Hebrews 4:12 ( NKJV ) 12For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
ii. What’s happening in this case is that families are being divided!
iii. People are having to deal w/ & confront their disobedience to God’s word & what’s happening in the process is that families are being split.
iv. The preaching of the gospel essentially has to have a cutting edge to be effective otherwise it is nothing more than religious ramblings.
*** One conference I was sitting on the stage b/4 the final morning seminar when Ps Mitchell was preaching. About 2 mins b/4 the service was to begin Ps Mitchell began looking around & said “My Bible, where’s my Bible?” Of course I didn’t know & the more he looked around his chair / pulpit / stage the more nervous he b/ca. Finally we called over one the ushers & got him to check in the office where Ps Mitchell had been during the morning break. Sure enough – that’s where he left his Bible w/ his notes inside it.
When he introduced his message that morning session he related the story of his misplaced Bible & said “Good thing I found it otherwise I would have been giving you miscellaneous religious thoughts this morning! he he he!”
v. For the gospel to have impact / change lives / usher us forward into the will of God then the preaching has to be armed w/ powerful … sometimes devastating truth.
b. But look what truth does – it brings about change of heart & change of attitude towards the deadly enemy of sin.
Vs 3. 3So we must now make a promise to our God to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them, as my lord Ezra and the others who tremble at the commandments of our God have advised us to do. We must do what Moses’ Teachings tell us.
i. After the missiles have been launched there is the surrender!
ii. Think about the form in which the surrender takes place.
Vs 3. 3So we must now make a promise to our God to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them,
** The old adage says that “An enemy exposed is an enemy defeated!”
iii. The enemy which has really been taking up lodging ….. w/I their hearts / homes & lives has been exposed here & now there is repentance.
iv. Something has been triggered w/I their own thoughts / minds / hearts which has allowed them to confront the unthinkable.
c. You see b/4 we are exposed to the preaching repentance is often unthinkable!
i. In other words we aren’t even ready to entertain the idea of confronting / exposing / rooting out sin.
ii. In fact if anything we think about ways in which we can justify our sin – ways in which we can legitimise it & make it legal.
iii. How can we make this illegal marriage of the flesh & Spirit work? That’s our biggest challenge b/4 we are exposed to preaching!
iv. That’s often the thought we are grappling w/ prior to being bombarded by some gospel missiles.
d. But Paul tells us in plain language ……
2 Corinthians 6:15 ( NKJV ) 15And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
i. James concurs w/ a similar statement when he says ….
James 4:4 ( NKJV ) 4Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
ii. Another indicator missiles of truth are hitting the mark is when God’s people recognise that their reference points of truth / right / wrong must be founded in the Word of God.
Vs 3. as my lord Ezra and the others who tremble at the commandments of our God have advised us to do. We must do what Moses’ Teachings tell us.
iii. The reference points of truth found in God’s word allow us to overcome the insanity of the world around us.
iv. Think about it! The world around us is insane! It’s going to hell in a basket! And the really insane thing is that we – the saved – find our/s lured into the same insanity!
v. That’s why we have to be constantly bombarded w/ missiles of truth that can shock us back to the sense of the reference points of God’s Word.
# 3. Carrying forth the truth.
A. A great Sunday service is one when the people of God leave the service carrying forth the truth.
a. And that’s exactly what has happened in our text –
i. After sermon preparation – by the man of God & the people of God – bombardment by missiles of truth ……. they carry truth forth on their shoulders!
*** We have often witnessed the triumphant carrying forth of a coach / captain of a team at the end of a victorious sporting event. At the end of the AFL grand final it is a given that the coach of the triumphant team will be hoisted upon the players’ shoulders.
ii. What we are witnessing here in our text is the carrying forth of truth – triumphant upon the shoulders of the people!
iii. When God’s people yield to the truth that is preached – truth leaves / exits the sermon …. Not so much on our shoulders but in the hearts of the people.
iv. You see its God’s will that every service we triumphantly carry truth out of the service exalted in our own hearts.
v. Listen to what is happening here in our text ….
Vs 4. 4Get up! It’s your duty to take action. We are with you, so be strong and take action.” 5Then Ezra got up and made the leaders, priests, Levites, and all the rest of Israel swear to do what they had said. So they took an oath.
vi. Did you hear the response of the people – get up! It’s your duty to take action!
vii. Its always a great Sunday service when truth is carried forth triumphantly in the hearts of God’s people from the service.
b. B/c where truth is promoted mercy, righteousness & peace are administered to God’s people.
Psalms 85:10 ( NKJV ) 10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.
i. Its when God’s people have a revelation of the power of truth that they make a commitment to truth.
ii. That’s why the people are carrying forth truth triumphantly in their hearts …..
iii. There is no glum resolve to truth by the people here … but an eagerness to commit to it & execute the truth.
c. Listen to again to what they say to Ezra ……
Vs 12. 12Then the whole assembly shouted in reply, “Yes! We will do as you say.
i. Think about it! Why this, almost fanatic commitment to the truth?
ii. Why are these people so eager to obey the truth that has bombarded their lives & pulled back the covers of their sin?
iii. Why are they so eager to commit to truth when the truth is going to demand harsh action from them?
iv. The answer is sandwiched between the end of Vs 2. & the beginning of Vs 3. ….. listen to what it says ….
Vs 2. ……However, there is still hope for Israel.
v. You see a great Sunday service is one where the people carry truth triumphantly forth from the service in their hearts b/c truth always gives birth to hope!
vi. Here we find truth actually giving birth to hope in the words of Jesus when he says ….
John 8:32 ( NKJV ) 32And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
