God’s Glory In Our Church

Why do you go to church? To visit friends? To hear inspiring music?

To be seen by others whose opinion you value? Believers need a better reason for attending church, and that reason is to meet God and further extend and extol His glory. We gather to express to God His worth to us, and that's what the word worship is all about. Today, message number two in a nine-part series on the glory of God.

Stay with us. From Chicago, this is The Moody Church Hour, a weekly service of worship and teaching with Pastor Erwin Lutzer. On this broadcast, we'll hear the second of nine messages on Nothing Else Matters, how the glory of God gives meaning to all of life. Later in our program, Erwin Lutzer will speak on God's glory in our church.

Pastor Lutzer comes now to open today's service. We're so glad that you have come here to worship today and to recognize the fact that, amid all of the other options, God has brought you here for a very, very specific purpose. And we've been praying that this series of messages and our emphasis on the glory of God might be transforming for all of us. Father, grant us a sense of your presence, and we pray that our focus, our mind, and our heart, and all that we have, may be drawn to you through Jesus Christ, we pray.

Amen. We pray that you would come to our church today and to recognize the fact that, amid all of the other options, God has brought you here for a very specific purpose. We pray that you would come to our church today and to recognize the fact that, amid all of the other options, God has brought you here for a very specific purpose.

We pray that you would come to our church today and to recognize the fact that, amid all of the other options, God has brought you here for a very specific purpose. Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice!

Rejoice! And praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! And praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! O child, O child, is heavenly and strong for many years. O child, O child, is heavenly and strong for many years.

I want to invite you to turn in your bulletins. Our text this morning is from Ephesians chapter 2 and is a magnificent reflection on our identity as the church. Ephesians 2. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. For he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Amen. God of his Spirit, established by his Word, the Father so his works alone and strong in him we stand, no matter the spirit's very name, no more that you are in heaven. In our own temple, the Spirit's dwelling place, born in faith, he has come to hold the praise.

He died alone for all his own peace, ever losing sight, and joined in one lovely person to him more than God had to be. Amen. In our faith rise up and sing of the great and glorious King, you are strong and you will be in your brokenness complete. Shout to the Lord and the Son, sing to the East and the West, Jesus, sing along for the world and Earth. Rise up where you love and dream, stand and sing to broken hearts, who can know the kingdom of our awesome kingdom. Shout to the Lord and the Son, sing to the East and the West, Jesus, sing along for the world and Earth.

Rise up, church, with broken wings, fill this place with songs again of our God who reigns on by his grace and will run. Shout to the Lord and the Son, sing to the East and the West, Jesus, the Savior to all, Lord of heaven and earth. We will shout to the Lord and the Son, sing to the East and the West, Jesus, the Savior to all, Lord of heaven and earth.

He is Lord of heaven and earth, he is Lord of heaven and earth. Father, we love you, we worship at the door, glorify thy name in all the earth. glorify thy name, glorify thy name, glorify thy name in all the earth. Jesus, we love you, we worship at the door, glorify thy name in all the earth. glorify thy name, glorify thy name, glorify thy name in all the earth. Spirit, we love you, we worship at the door, glorify thy name in all the earth. glorify thy name, glorify thy name, glorify thy name in all the earth. O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life.

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bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O 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bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, O bread of life, come sing it to us, When the church is finally free of sin, finally being able to worship God without mediation, standing in God's presence, heaven opens to John. And what does John see? John sees the 24 elders worshipping God.

24 elders representing, of course, the saints of the Old Testament, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the patriarchs, or the 12 sons of Jacob, but also representing the 12 apostles. And what are they doing? They're casting their crowns before him. They are giving God worship.

And they are seeing God face to face as he actually is at last. And we here on earth, we begin that process. We meet every week as a worship committee and we try to plan a service around a certain theme.

Sometimes we're better at it than we are at other times. But we recognize that we cannot make Moody Church worship. We cannot make you worship.

Only God can do that. And we also recognize that you will only worship to the extent that you have planned to worship before you come here so that you've spent time with God before you walk into this building to give him all of your anxieties, to give him all of your sins, to take care of personal relationships so that now with uninterrupted focus, when we sing a song, if it's a song of praise, we are praising. If it is a prayer, we are praying because we are entering into worship. And the worship has begun long before the service opens.

You see, that's what we're all about. What we want to do as a church is to begin to worship before, before we get to heaven, rather than waiting until we get there. God desires that among his people. So first of all, it should be a church that is characterized by the presence of God. Secondly, we should also be characterized by the worship of God. And of course, we should be also characterized by the mandate of God. We have a responsibility.

And our responsibility is not just to one another, but to the wider culture. As some of you know, I have more than simply a passing interest in Nazi Germany. And one day, Martin Niemöller had an opportunity to speak with Hitler. Hitler had brought all the pastors together, or at least the leaders, because he was sensing some opposition on their part. And then he said to them, you take care of the German church and I will take care of the German people. In other words, you stick within your boundaries and I'll take care of the German people. When Niemöller had a chance to speak to Hitler as they were saying goodbye, he said to him, der Führer, he said, you said that we were just to take care of the church and you would take care of the German people. But he said, we also have a mandate to the German people given to us by God and no one can take it from us. Hitler turned away without a word and later on 2,000 pastors who had supported Niemöller backed away from their support because they thought that if we simply leave Hitler alone, he'd leave us alone.

But of course, Niemöller was right. What is our responsibility as a church? Is it simply to worship, simply to learn, simply to equip? No, Jesus Christ has called us to make the invisible God visible to this culture, to take the invisible God and his presence and to take that presence to all the different areas of Chicago and beyond that we might be bearers of God and his message so that we become transforming agents and we become transforming agents in offices and banks and hospitals where the world has gone astray and they are looking for answers and we're available to God and we say to God, here we are.

Today, glorify yourself in my life at my expense. You live that way and you'll be surprised whom God might bring to you. You know, there is a story about a boy who was not reared in church and because he wasn't reared, he didn't know exactly what to expect when he walked into a church, but he was told that God dwells there and perhaps you've heard it, he came in and he met the pastor and he said to the pastor, be you God. Folks, we are God to a world that has lost its way and God has called us as The Moody Church to make the invisible God visible to a skeptical world through Jesus Christ our Lord. What we must do is to make sure that we seek him with all of our hearts that his glory, his dwelling place that God might feel comfortable among us that the companionship of God which all of us desire might be an experience that all of us have so that people say surely God dwells there among his people.

Are we ready for what God might want to do? Will you join me as we pray together? Father, I'm gripped by the phrase that says the dwelling of God by the spirit that that's what you are doing. Would you help all of us now Lord to be overcome by the recognition that you are building something. You are building here in this church a temple where you can dwell. We pray Father that you might help us to rid the temple of impurities through confession, through repentance and that you by your power might visit us and that we might experience the fullness of your blessing. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. On today's Moody Church Hour Pastor Lutzer spoke on God's glory in our church. The second of nine messages on Nothing Else Matters how the glory of God gives meaning to all of life. Next week we explore our part in bringing many sons and daughters to glory. The Reformation in the 1500s was a rediscovery of the true gospel.

Knowing what happened then can help us pray for it to happen again in our day. Pastor Lutzer's book Rescuing the Gospel will help us do this. It's our gift to you when you give a gift of any amount to support The Moody Church Hour. Just call us at 1-800-215-5001.

Ask about Rescuing the Gospel when you call 1-800-215-5001. Or you can write to us at Moody Church Media, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Online, go to moodyoffer.com. That's moodyoffer.com. Join us next week for another Moody Church Hour with Pastor Erwin Lutzer and the Congregation of Historic Moody Church in Chicago. This broadcast is a ministry of The Moody Church.