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peace be with you peace be within your walls prosperity within your palaces for the sake of my brethren and companions I will now say peace be within you because of the house of Lord our God I will seek your good amen for our first song like we can sing come to a large eternity hymnal Number 295 will sing and stand together Number 295 Oh Oh Oh Oh let's go Lord in prayer Lord God and Heavenly Father we come to again Lord on his Lord stay for a second time lord with much praise and much Thanksgiving the Lord with much to be thankful and grateful for Lord and we do praising for that we thank you Lord that you have set apart this day this day where we can set aside our daily Labor's or can set aside two things of the world and coming to your house door is a pleasure people to praise you to honor you to worship you and we do thank you love all Lord that we can do the salt through son Jesus Christ we do thank you Lord for so great a sacrifice that he's accomplished on our behalf will you thank you Lord for His perfect life his death and his resurrection that ultimate sacrifice Lord that paid the price of our sins in foland or we do thank you for working in our lives to show us so great a salvation for offering us so great a gospel with so much grace toward so undeserving would you thank you Lord that even now we can come to you in prayer we can come before that High King of heaven because that throne room has been opened or because what Christ has done would you acknowledge Lord that it is his rights to salona we're close with there's nothing lower than in ourselves so we can bring and so we come now Lord them through the through the finished work of Christ Jesus your silence through him alone no we do come will you thank you for this local church Lord will you think for the faithful preaching that goes on here week after week we do thank you for a pass resort for their faithfulness to your word we do pray for our pastors or would you pray for pastor Butler or we do pray that you continue to give healing to him from the surgery Lord we do pray that this time of rest would be a time of rest and recovery and Lord that in due time if it is your will that he could return to his duties here as a pastor would you pray for pastor Porter Lord as it brings your word to us again this evening we do pray Lord for your Holy Spirit to be upon this brother we do pray in order to give him the words to say that it would preach accurately and basically from your Holy Word Lord we do acknowledge that we do need your Holy Spirit even in this hour of worship so we do pray Lord you be pleased to send your Holy Spirit to minister to the Saints gather together today that you'd be pleased to minister to us in a way that we go forward in this week with a renewed zeal renew a renewed energy for your word Lord the daily Lord you'd continue to sanctify spiral holy spirit that would continue to be a light shining in the midst of such darkness and such corruption would you pray Lord for all those gathered gathered this evening Lord who are not saved those who are still outside of your kingdom Lord we do pray Lord that today would be the day of their salvation would you ask God you'd work a mighty work in their hearts they would open their hearts to see their need of a savior that you show them the freeness of the gospel the freeness of the work of christ jesus lord we do pray that you do that you'd work that work even in their hearts would you pray for a young people Lord and our children would you pray Lord that it's it in a world where there's such such temptation there's so many things that would draw their attention away Lord would you pray that there would be that they would resist the devil and all that he offers and that they would have a desire to know Christ even at a young age sort we just pray for them and you'd pray you pray for your work in their young lives Lord we pray for those in our church who are sick and afflicted those who have ongoing health concern health issues are blue pray for a major appeal and your healing is required would you pray that each and every day in order to give them much strength to endure what you have set out for them through these trials we do pray for the lord is your word says that they would glory in this tribulation that ultimately lord through these times they would look forward to that hope that hope that does notice that does not disappoint we just pray Lord that dota that they would have their eyes fixed upon that cross and a bonds upon that finished work of Jesus Christ and that that would be their comfort through whatever trial you have them going through Lord would you pray for the persecuted Church or would you pray for those around the world who r each and every day face death face persecution base our very lives or because because of their because of what because of the gospel Lord and because what Christ has done for them or would you pray for not only physical protection but spiritually also offer you to hedge the main each and every day that you would give them much strength by your Holy Spirit spiritual strength that they would persevere through these dark times and Lord in the light in light of what goes on in a world art we do it much to be thanked before we do you think for the religious freedoms that we do have here in North America where the freedoms always often take for granted or just very fact that we can come together week after week in your in your house with freedom and without persecution Lord and so we pray for those in authority Lord we do asks we do ask for a change of heart in those for those in authority that the that the sins of this nation would be abolished Lord that they would seek to rule according to word and according to your Divine Plan Lord and so we just pray for a change of heart for those in authority nor b'doop we do ask again for your blessing upon this evening we do pray Lord all that is done in this hour of worship would be to the praise and honor of your Most High name and send Christ alone that we do pray this amen now for a second home this evening we can turn in our eternity hymnals again to number 3 15 will stand in sing number 3 15 together Oh see for Old Testament scripture reading this evening as we work our way through the book prophet Ezekiel we're in chapter 33 of Ezekiel I'll read the entire chapter Ezekiel 33 again the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man speak to the children of your people and say to them when I bring a sword upon a land and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman when it sees a sword coming upon the land if he blows the trumpet and warns of people then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning if the sword comes and takes him away his blood shall be upon his own head he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning his blood shall be upon himself but he who takes warning will save his life but if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned the sword comes and takes any person from among them he is taken away in his iniquity but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand so you said a man I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel therefore you shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them and warn them for me when I say to the wicked a wicked man you shall surely die and you do not speak to warn the wicked man up from his way that wicked man shall dine isn't it die in his iniquity but his blood I will require at your hand nevertheless if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way he shall die in his iniquity why you have delivered your soul there for you osanna man say to the house of Israel thus you say if you're if our transgressions and our sins lie upon us and we pine away and we pine away in them how can we then live say to them as I live says the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but not the wicked turn from his way and they've turned turn from your evil ways for why should you die o house of Israel therefore o sanam and say to the children of your people the righteousness of the righteous man shall dog deliver him in the day of his transgression as for the wickedness of the wicked he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins when I say to the righteous that he shall surely live but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity none of his righteousness none of his righteous works shall be remembered but because of the iniquity that he has committed he shall die again when I say to the wicked you shot her you shall surely die if he turns from a sin and does and does what is lawful and right if the wicked restores the pledge gives back what he is stolen and walks in the statutes of life without committing inequity he shall surely live he shall not die none of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him he has done what is lawful and right he shall surely live yet the children of your people say the way of the Lord is not fair but it is their way which is not fair when the righteous turns from is that from his righteousness and commits iniquity he shall die because of it but when the wicked turned but when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right he shall live because of it yet you say the way of the Lord is not fair o house of Israel I will judge every one of you according to his own ways and it came to pass in 12th year of our captivity and a tenth month on the fifth day of the month that one that one who might escape from Jerusalem came to me and said the city has been captured now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped any you and he had opened my mouth so when he came to me in the morning my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute then a word of the Lord came to me saying son a man they who inhabit those they inhabit those ruins in Land of Israel are saying Abraham was only one and he and he inherited to land but we are many the land has been given to us as a possession therefore say to them now says Lord God you meet with blood you lift your eyes Ward your idols and shed blood should you pretend possess a land you rely on your sword you commit abominations and you defile one another's wives should you then possess a land thus save us to them thus says the Lord God as I live surely those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword and the one who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured i knows who are in the strongholds in caves shall die a pestilence for our mates a land most desolate her arrogant strength shall cease ana mountains of Israel shall we soldiers let that no one will pass through then they shall know that I am the lord when I had made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed as for you son of man the children of your people are talking about you behind beside the walls and in the doors of the houses and it speak to one another everyone saying to his brother please come and hear what the word is that comes from the lord so they come to you as people to you they sit before you ask my people and they hear your words but they do not do it but they do not do them for with their mouths they show much love but their hearts pursue their own gain indeed you are to them a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well in and can play well on an instrument for the hear your words but they do not do them and when this comes to pass surely it will come then they will know that a prophet has been among them amen let's go though let's go Lord again in order prayer dear Lord we do thank you for the scripture reading nor would you thank you for the reminders of your covenant faithfulness Lord your faithfulness to people who only heard but would not do and so we pray even now Lord that we I'll be as such that we may not be people who only here but that we truly may be people who here and do your words or dhund so we just pray for your grace we pray for the minister of your Holy Spirit Lord that we may be truly we may be true lights in this crooked and perverse generation so we just pray for you your Holy Spirit lower to sanctify Staley conforming us to that image every son Jesus Christ we do pray again now Lord as we go into worship would you pray for your for the Ministry of your Holy Spirit we do pray for your blessing upon pastor Porter Lord would you pray that you be pleased to bless the words that are spoken and Lord we just pray that all is said and done would be to the praise and honor of your Most High name and sin Christ well no we do pray amen for last song before the preaching will sing number 218 and the first tune of 218 you Oh Oh Oh as Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh all Oh Oh all Oh you oh good evening everyone you can turn in your Bibles to first Corinthians one please first Corinthians chapter one as you're turning there many of you may have read letters or regarding updates for and prayed for the Institute of reformed baptist studies on their on their seal are on their logo they have a number of things written and one of the things is a Latin phrase that's translated into English the preaching of the word of God is the word of God recognizing the importance of a seminary to to train to to empower to instruct to prepare preachers of the word of God they take that quote from the second helvetic confession the preaching of the word of God is the word of God they realized the importance of the the preaching of the word Ron Baines recently a dear brother who has recently passed away wrote these words he says the statement that the preaching of the word of God is the word of God is not equated the normativity of the word of God with the act of preaching this would leave us with to normative standards rather the Word of God alone is normative and preaching is instrumentally the Word of God as the normative Word of God is faithfully exegete it and proclaimed the preaching of the word becomes the instrumental means that the Holy Spirit uses as he causes the faithful to hear the very voice of God these sorts of acknowledgments are taken from the Word of God that sets before us the importance or the primacy of the word proclaim the very truth of God spoken forth by preachers of his word and one of those texts is in first Corinthians 1 and so let's read first Corinthians 1 18 to 25 with a view towards regarding the importance of preaching first Corinthians 1 beginning in verse 18 for the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God for it is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent where is the wise where is the scribe where is the disputer of this age has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know god it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe for Jews request a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men amen will let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you now again that we can be gathered here and engage in this act of worship the preaching of your word help us again Lord God by your spirit to remain attentive help us Lord God to be focused upon your words proclamation that we might rejoice in Christ Jesus the Lord that we might rejoice in our salvation and Lord God that you would work by this act of worship to strengthen your Saints to save sinners that you might be glorified and we pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior amen well hopefully you never think it's self-serving for a preacher to preach about preaching we come to the Bible and we're confronted very frequently very often by this reality that the preaching of the word of God is primary if it is the case that the proclamation of Jesus Christ is that Proclamation whereby sinners are saved then no doubt we are to hold in high regard Proclamation we are to hold in high regarde preaching because it is through the preaching of the word that the so-called wisdom of the world is dashed to pieces and destroyed and that the so-called foolishness of God which is greater than the wisdom of men is exalted and set before the minds of men as that which is primary and that which is centered around Christ Jesus and him crucified Him risen him exalted in him being the king of men notice in this passage we have the proclamation of the word of God the preaching of the word of God set forth as that which again brings to an end the wisdom of the world we want to notice four things here as we move through this passage sort of just keying in on a few phrases of the Apostle Paul here that brings to the fore the importance of preaching and the four things that we're going to do are these we're going to notice first the preaching preaching is the divinely ordained means of bringing sinners to saving faith the secondly preaching is the divinely ordained means of building Christ's Church the thirdly preaching has Christ as the sum and substance of its purpose and then lastly preaching has the cross as the apex of its content notice first off preaching is the divinely ordained means of bringing sinners to saving faith you notice the language of the Apostle Paul here first off he describes preaching in verse 18 as the message of the cross we haven't yet gotten gone to point gotten 20 point for we haven't yet arrived there but preaching first off is being used here the language being used to describe preaching is the message of the cross the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God before it is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent you see the wisdom of this world is not that wisdom which saves is it we cannot arrive at eternal life we cannot gain some sort of favor before God we cannot arrive at the eschatological glory of being with God Father Son and Holy Spirit with all the Saints and with all the heavenly host singing praises for eternity by the wisdom of the world we are not brought into a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ we are not brought to the Bliss of heaven through the wisdom of the world but rather we are brought to react the reality of everlasting life and salvation through by the means of the proclamation of Jesus Christ notice in in verse 20 where is the wise where is the scribe where is the disputer of this age has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world it's very interesting as Christianity grows as Christianity in the in the in the early church and in the in these you know beginning years of the proclamation of Jesus crisis Christianity grows in his Lord as the Lord adds to the church the Apostles go out the disciples of Christ go out and they proclaim the riches of Christ and the Lord adds to the church those who are being saved we see Christianity growing the report then comes of all of these being brought forth from darkness to light from deadness to life through the proclamation of Jesus Christ but where is the wise where is the scribe where is the disputer of this age where where is all of these where the wise described the disputer of this age where are their proselytes where are their numbers being brought forth to salvation and everlasting life they're nowhere the scribes are nothing the so-called wise are nothing the so-called dispute errs of this age are nothing the proof of that is seen in that God has made foolish the wisdom of this world and the the so called wise the so-called scribe the so-called disputer of this age dispute errs of this age they're rendered as dumb before the actual wisdom of the living true God who puts their wisdom down by that which is true wisdom Jesus Christ and him crucified it's the point of the Apostle Paul here true wisdom true power does not come through the world so-called wisdom but it comes solely on alone through the triune God who reveals true wisdom and power through the Lord Jesus Christ preaching is the divinely ordained means of bringing sinners to saving faith as we now read verse 21 that's brought into greater clarity notice in verse 21 for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know god it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe you see we are not to call the the day of preaching a day of small things you know there's a there's a reason why is it is to be seen as a colossal tragedy as a as a horrible thing when God according to his hot and holy and wholesome justice removes the preaching of the word and calls it a famine if it is divine justice that is seen in revoking and removing the proclamation of the truth the proclamation of the word of God if that is wholesome as a curse from the hand of God then conversely is it not to be seen as the highest blessing when we are able to gather around and at the Church of the Living God and engage in the act of preaching engage in this act of worship the preaching of the word not because of the preacher but because God has ordained the means of preaching as that means whereby he brings forth dead sinners to life through Jesus Christ the Lord we are to count the day of preaching not as a day of small and low things but as a day of high in heavy things God using this ordaining this as that means by which he brings forth dead sinners to life a number of passages ought to jump to our mind but you can turn back a little bit to the left to Romans 10 Romans chapter 10 hopefully you know the passage that I'm going to we're going to pick up reading in Romans 10 10 as we are remarking after the fact that preaching is the divinely ordained means of bringing sinners to saving faith notice in Romans 10 10 for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation for the scripture says whoever believes on him will not be put to shame for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same lord over all is rich to all who call upon him for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved now then excuse me how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher you see the you see the the logic here as Paul is is opening this this up and bringing this to bear upon his his audience the the statement and verse 13 comes whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved and then this this logical progression of argumentation follows how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed so how are they to call upon this Lord if they have not believed and how shall they believe in him then of whom they have not heard so sinners need to hear of the Lord Jesus Christ in order in order to call upon the name of the Lord they need to be those who are believing in order to believe they need to hear and in order to hear they need a preacher how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach unless they are sent we read this is Calvin on this language it is a proof and a pledge of divine love when any nation is favored with the preaching of the gospel you get that you feel the weight of that it is a proof and a pledge of divine love when any nation is favored with the preaching of the gospel that is why it is the opposite of a famine when the gospel is proclaimed in a in a nation and in a city it is it is a feast there is an abundance of food in that place where the gospel is being proclaimed you think about this kids if you you know if you went into if you went into a restaurant and you know you sat down and you know you're hungry perhaps you've you've worked all day kids can work you should be you know working a little bit you go into a restaurant you've worked all day you're starving you you know the the waitress waiter comes up to you and you say I'd like to order and they interrupt you and they say oh sorry we're out of food no stomach grumbling you're you're weak you need sustenance our bodies need food you go back the next day sorry and you die eventually no no food it's a famine there's absolutely no food you cannot be fed and if you are not fed you will die well let's transfer this argument to the high and holier things of gospel Proclamation imagine imagine such a place in such an instance in such a season where there is no proclamation of the word of God not only yes will believers not have that feeding that they need that that normative means that means of grace whereby our strength the strength of our faith is grown by the Holy Spirit the risen Christ gifting up with gifting us with his Spirit through the proclamation of the word that we might grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ but think about unbelie-- unbelievers there is no food where bayit whereby they can taste of and come to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ there is no intake of the revelation and the truth and the glorious things of the Lord Jesus Christ remember the invitations the old and the New Testament come by and eat why would you spend your money on that which does not satisfy come by and eat but imagine there is a famine of that reality we are to count the day of preaching the hour of preaching the season of preaching as a high-end heavy thing we are not to we are not to see it as that which is lowly and that which is small and that which we can take or leave as Christians we are to see the glory in it and because of this fact that it is the divinely ordained means of bringing sinners to saving faith Calvin would go on to say at the point of Romans 10 it is enough for us to bear this only in mind that the gospel does not fall like rain from the clouds but is brought by the hands of men wherever it is sent from above the preaching of the word of God is the word of God you know on this instrumentality on it being a means of God bringing forth dead sinners to life the second helvetic confession goes on to say inward illumination does not eliminate external preaching for he that illuminates inwardly by giving men the Holy Spirit the same one by way of commandment said unto the his disciples go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation and so in Philip I Paul preached the word outwardly to Lydia a seller of purple goods but the Lord inwardly opened the woman's heart and the same Paul after a beautiful development of his thought in Romans 10 17 at length comes to the conclusion so faith comes from hearing and noticed this and hearing from the Word of God by the preaching of Christ you see what the hell Vedic confession does there at the point of Romans 10 17 where it says so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God it it argues for the fact that when the Word of God is faithfully proclaimed it is as if Christ Himself is preaching to the congregation that's why Paul could tell the Ephesians that came and preached to them that the one who is peace himself came and preached to the Ephesian Christians Christ never went to Ephesus but by virtue of faithful apostolic witness an attestation to the glorious riches of Christ It was as if Christ Himself was there proclaiming the riches of his glorious gospel the helvetic confession already noted the practical example in acts 16 where proclamation comes and Lydia that seller of purple is brought forth from deadness to life in Christ do you ever want to have some interesting side reading you can read John John Gill on acts 16 13 because he goes on for what seems like pages about what this what the selling of purple means I think it's one of the longest sections on a verse that I've ever read of John Gill and I've read a lot of Gill and he's just he's just waxing eloquent on the you know the theology of the color purple and how Lydia probably you know probably died it from from shellfish the blood of shellfish and all these sorts of things but you see here's this Lydia down by a river we have you been here for our preaching on on Philippians 2 5 to 11 we've made some mention occasionally of the various things going on in the history of Phillip Ian and that sort of thing well acts 16 the Apostle Paul is in Philippi and he's he's preaching he comes to Phillip I and they they get get wind if you will of the fact that they gather together down by the river the Jews in order to pray and meditate upon the Word of God now that river is most likely the river Crenna DS which used to be the name of Philip I before Philip the second of Macedon rolled in and changed it to Philip I and so these faithful Jews are down at the river praying and meditating and Lydia eat she's either a Greek proselyte to Judaism or she's a Jew herself but nevertheless she's down there as a seller of purple as a faithful Jew going about the bill business of what Jews do there's no synagogue in Philip I so she's down at the river but you see she's in unbelief she has not yet come to a knowledge of this Christ the glorious king of kings and Lord of lords who died for sinners and rose again and so Paul comes and he preaches Christ to her and we see we read the report the narrative is that the Lord opened her heart to receive the things spoken by the Apostle Paul you see the utility of the preaching of the word how important it is the primacy of it it is that means that God uses to bring forth dead sinners to life what's an application what can we gain from this is we rehearse the importance of preaching what is an application here if preaching is the divinely ordained means of bringing sinners to saving faith then this is an application you're to pray for preachers you know we we need our prayers when when pastor Butler and I and whoever's opening worship comes up here and in the course of that time of worship which is prayer to our triune God and we ask for God to bless the preacher that's genuine and that's real when we append that or when we include this reality that the preacher does not lean upon his own understanding and strength that's true and that's real pray pray for your preachers pray for those who preach here eh pray for those who preach anywhere because it is by that divinely ordained means that God brings forth sinners to saving faith there's a number of things that we could note here this in the context here and if you find your way back to first Corinthians notice that there's something of a something of a difference of medium that contrasts the preaching of the word with other things other methods if you will notice again beginning in verse 21 for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know god it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe notice for Jews request to sign and Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified you see the contrast here we're discussing the means that the glorious and divinely ordained means of the preaching of the word its contrast adhere to the Jews who request signs and the Greeks who seek after wisdom preaching of the word of God comes as that divinely ordained means it's not the signs that the Jews seek after remember though in their in their dealings with the Lord Jesus Christ Christ's the veracity of Christ as the Messiah was attested to them by Christ doing miracles and signs and wonders that's the argument of the Apostle Peter in Acts chapter 2 Jesus of Nazareth a man attested to you by miracles and signs and and wonders which he did in your midst as you yourselves also know the Jews saw signs they sought after signs but you see they didn't really like the Son Jesus ultimately brings them to this point and he says you will not get a sign except or the only sign that you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the giant fish Christ Himself will be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth that's the sign gospel Verity will be the sign and how did that sign come to the mines and and to the ears to the ears and then to the minds of those Jews it came by the proclamation of the word so what Pentecost was the word of God the word of truth coming to these who sought after a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom you see that the Greeks perhaps they they thought that true knowledge and true salvation if you will after that idea comes not by the proclamation of this of this Messiah massacred upon Calvary's tree true wisdom comes from the human mind the human eye observing that observing the natural world contemplating after our own observation that the human mind can somehow bring itself to salvation for for lack of a better term you see that's why we have the the importance of Revelation the importance of the gospel proclaimed you see man can look for money for monies brought forth from the womb if he lives a hundred and twenty years he can look upon the natural world and contemplate the natural world and of course he's never going to come to a knowledge of our God and of his Christ yes the law of nature testifies that there is a God it shows that there is a God who is to be feared trusted in worshiped and served with all our heart mind soul and strength but the acceptable way of worshiping that God is revealed by the Holy Scripture and the only way of coming to saving contact with that God is through the Christ proclaimed through the act of preaching the wisdom of God the folly of man the wisdom of God the the reality of preaching as a prime as the the primary means is that the the important medium of the Christian religion was seen at the time of the Reformation as well at the time of the Reformation you had the Roman Catholic Church and the centrality of the mass the blasphemy of the mass and transubstantiation where the pulpit was a lectern off to the side and dead center was the altar where they would in their carnality and in their blasphemy a sacrifice Christ and an unbloodied sacrifice upon the altars of Rome another medium of that was prime at the time of the Reformation as well where the radical reformers who repudiated everything Catholic and everything truly not everything but a lot of things truly Protestant and have set instead of preaching being primary it was perhaps direct inward illumination from God our forebears though the Protestant reformers saw what the Scriptures set forth the centrality of preaching the centrality of the pulpit no you know no statues and no you know baddeck crosses and no graven images why because it's by the proclamation of the word that sinners are brought forth from deadness to life you see that the preaching of the word served among many other things that it served the reality of the of the second commandment I don't know I'm I don't want to go on about history the whole time here we're going to move on in a second but there were a couple times in history where Christians came up against the the worship of icons or the use of icons in churches statues or three-dimensional images or two-dimensional images as as aids to worship seeing it rightly as a violation of the second commandment did the Reformers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but even prior to that they opposed it at the point of christology but at the time of the Reformation the proclamation of the word of God serve to dash to pieces violations of the second commandment this is calvin and i want you to hopefully you can enter in with me here on the importance of preaching in dashing to pieces violations of the law of God if we just think about this for a second the first commandment that I am the Lord your God who brought you for a promotive bondage and Egypt you shall have no other gods before me you shall have no other gods before me what serves that commandment the proclamation of the one and only living and true God doesn't it if we were to go through every commandment we would see that the proclamation of the word of God serves to drive the force of all of those Commandments pedagogically that is to drive the sinner to Christ at each and every point the preacher of the word of God comes and he drives the the the wholesome holiness and righteousness and justice of all of those ten words to the point where the one hearing can feel the weight if you will of the righteousness and the holiness of God the immensity and the purity of his law the reality that he stands condemned before that holy autin before the purity of the law and that the only way of salvation is Jesus Christ the Lord but you see after that not but but as well not only does the proclamation of the word serve that pedagogical use of the law to drive sinners to Christ it no doubt serves the civil use as well but the normative use how did the Reformers you know come up against all of these graven images and icons and churches in the 15th in the sixteenth and seventeenth century by forcing upon the minds of men the reality in the weight of the proclamation of the word Paul declares Calvin wrote that by the true preaching of the gospel Christ is portrayed in a manner crucified before our eyes he's quoting Galatians 3 1 there you can read that on your own time but the Galatians never laid their eyes upon Christ but what he's saying here is that the proclamation of the word is such that it comes with with the weight of clarity that those who are hearing the word proclaimed about this Christ is it is as if he is clearly crucified before their eyes he goes on to say of what use then were the erection and churches of so many crosses of wooden stone silver and gold if this doctrine were faithfully and honestly preached Christ died that he might bear our curse upon the tree that he might expiate our sins by the sacrifice of his body wash them in his blood and in short reconcile us to God the Father from this one doctrine the people would learn more than from a thousand crosses of wood and stone as four crosses of gold and silver it may be true that the avaricious that is those who have greed for riches give their eyes and minds to them more eagerly than to Evan any heavenly instructor what's the point there see the heart of the heart of natural man wants to keep everything before his eyes the heart of sinful man wants to heap everything before his eyes save for Christ and him crucified he doesn't want to hear this he'll have he'll have abid ekton biju cross before he'll hear the word of christ and his cross proclaim the importance of the preaching of the word of God secondly preaching is the divinely mean divinely ordained means of building Christ's Church it's the same text this is intimately connected but you see not only is it the divinely ordained means of bringing dead sinners forth from from deadness to life in Christ but it's also the same divinely ordained means for building Christ's Church you know what do you think Christ has in mind but besides the fact of his own oblation the owns his own sacrifice that he was about to give up on Calvary's tree but remembering that that instance in Matthew 16 where he asks his disciples who they think that he is after they have already answered you know who other people think that he is who do you think i am who do you say I am Christ says thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God and he gives that promise to the church that I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it understand and know and and be safe in your assumption that Christ has in mind that when he ascends to the right hand of the Majesty on high he will send forth preachers of the word to proclaim the riches in the excellencies of himself in mark 16 notice what we have there in mark chapter 16 preaching is the divinely ordained means of building Christ's Church in marks account of the Great Commission we have in verse 14 of mark 16 later he appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen and he said to them go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature he who believes and is baptized will be saved but he who does not believe will be condemned and you see here the the first Commission if you will that Commission prior to his ascension that he gives to the disciples and you must understand that this serves the previous promise that he made to build his church that I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it go into all the world he commands and preach the gospel to every creature it is the means that God uses to build his church do you know that there is an intimate connection between that and the prophecy in Daniel 7 remember what's going on in Daniel 7 we alluded to it I think last week and in our preaching on on Micah 5 in in Daniel in Daniel chapter 7 there's the prophecy concerning the four kingdoms and then a final Kingdom so I get the five kingdoms we have the the lion of Assyria Babylon we have the that giving way to the the bear of persia that giving way to the leopard of alexander the grade in the greeks and then that giving way to this final a fourth and terrible terrible beastly kingdom that has this iron this iron beast with the the deadly teeth but then we read after that that the conquering kingdom which shall not fade away is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ and we read it culminating in verse 13 I was watching in the night visions and behold one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven and he came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him here before him then to him was given Dominion and glory in a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages should serve him his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed how is that Kingdom built and how is that kingdom spread but through the instrumentality of the preaching of the word the Holy Spirit no doubt as that of actual means that is you know joined with the instrumentality of the word that uses the instrumentality of the word to spread forth the glorious riches of Christ and to build his church this prophecy of this kingdom that destroys that fourth and final Kingdom this conquering kingdom the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ which shall not pass away the King prior to his ascension gives a commandment and the commandment is go preach the gospel the importance the primacy of the preaching of the word what what's an example of this in the in the book of Acts well the whole book of Acts is an example of this when you come to the book of Acts the whole book of acts as an example that preaching is the divinely ordained means of building Christ's Church what happens on the day of Pentecost but this if you turn to Acts chapter 2 preaching being and you you all know what happened on the day of Pentecost don't you Peter Peter proclaims richly the Christ who lived who died who rose again who is the ascended king who sent forth the spirit the promise of the Spirit that they were be holding that all who believe on Him will have everlasting life and it comes to this point in acts 2 40 and with many other words he testified and exhort them saying be saved from this perverse generation then those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about three thousand souls were added to them see the the proclamation of the word of God for the building of his church what what can we what can we take away from this as an application we've already noted pray for Peter for preachers and I don't want to I don't want to to have this to have this sound strange to your ears and I wasn't just trying to rhyme but but also pay for preachers not pray for the word of God because come by and eat without money without price but preachers the proclamation of the word of God requires the people of God in fact to such a point to such a point that the preaching of the word of God requires people to provide physical sustenance and money in order that the proclamation of the word can go forth victorious this is such a reality that Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians can bring forth the example of Christ as coming down from the pinnacle of richness and riches to this lower ignominy of shame and poverty so that we in our poverty might be made rich in order to argue for the Corinthian church to give for the churches in other areas so that the proclamation of the gospel can go forth to the uttermost parts of the earth so we are to pray and we are to give support we are to to pray and as we are able we are to give so that those who are in fact are the confession the confession of our faith speaks something to this with regards to the Church of Christ and with regards to the duty of elders notice in notice you don't have a copy of the confession but notice in chapter 26 and verse 10 the work of pastors being constantly to attend the service of christ in his churches in the Ministry of the word in prayer with watching for their souls as they that must give an account to him it is incumbent on the churches to whom they Minister not only to give them all due respect but also to communicate to them of all their good things according to their ability so as they may have a comfortable supply without being themselves entangled in secular affairs you know I smile but brethren I don't want you to get this in this wrong at the wrong impression here but we are to provide support to those who preach the gospel of Jesus Christ why so that the proclamation of the gospel can go forth if imagine just for a moment if preaching hinges upon the you know exegetical person asian and proper proclamation of the word of God if the preaching of the word of God is the word of God only insofar as the word of God is being accurately preached then we ought not to have preachers we ought not to have pastors tangled in secular affairs stealing them away from the time needed to preach the riches and the excellencies of the word of the living and true God thirdly preaching has Christ as the sum and substance of its purpose preaching has Christ as the sum and substance of its purpose notice back in first Corinthians 1 what is the language first off in verse 22 for Jews requests to sign and Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block into the Greeks foolishness but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God so preaching is the divinely ordained means of bringing sinners to saving faith preaching is the divinely ordained means of building Christ's Church but you see it is only effectual preaching if preaching has Christ as the sum and substance of its purpose so much so that in first Corinthians 2 as we move along we see here in verse 24 I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified and then later in verse 14 versa first Corinthians 2 and verse 15 as well but the point here is preaching has christ as the the sum and substance of its purpose that chrysler's proclamation is is no proclamation at all now you might you might your your mind might be working here a little bit well what about what about the the proclamation of you know the book of Esther or you know proclamation of what if we you know spending some time in the in the book of Deuteronomy make no mistake that when we say Christ is the summon subs of preachings purpose we're not saying that that you know an explication of Deuteronomy is is is unwarranted of course it is it's the Word of God but remember what the Word of God is and what it isn't first what it isn't it's not this book this book of 66 books haphazardly slapped together just some ancient and dusty tome of antiquated truths but rather what do we acknowledge the Bible to be but that word from on high that has as its central message and as the trajectory of the whole Christ upon the cross working out the salvation of men spending time in Deuteronomy is spending time in Christ because when we get to the New Testament what do we have but the opening up of the old testament to show that the old testament promised Christ to come and the new testament testifies that he has that's borrowing the words of I think William Perkins I would have to check my references but I think that's what he said you get the point from Luke 24 though we admit we've noted this before make no mistake at Luke 24 is an absolutely vital passage of holy scripture for understanding the scope of the whole which is to give all glory to God we're in the scriptures we find a consent of all the parts document that has this as its primary target scope scope of the whole to testify to Jesus Christ the one who comes in the fullness of the times to give himself for guilty sinners Luke 24 Christ Himself says the prop the law the prophets and the Psalms all spoke concerning me you know it's such a reality that Christ is the sum and substance of preachings purpose that one Baptist of old Nehemiah Cox has said something like this that in all in all our search after the mind of God in the Holy Scriptures we are to manage our inquiries with reference to Christ he is the scope of the whole the tar the trajectory of the word points to this one who comes and who in the mind of the Apostle Paul is the sum and substance of proclamations purpose I love when we get to certain passages and in the Pauline epistles where we have stuff like this in Colossians 1 speaking of preaching having Christ as the sum and substance of his purpose Paul in Colossians 1 preaches much concerning the full divinity the full humanity of Christ the fact that in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and then we get to this glorious statement in verse 28 him we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus see the importance of the centrality of the Lord Jesus Christ and the proclamation of in the church's proclamation a Christ 'less proclamation is no proclamation at all it is Christ who is preached by the word that is the divinely ordained means of bringing sinners to saving faith because what is the only way to saving faith but through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ acts 512 the reality that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior given among men the only savior by which we have salvation preaching has Christ as the sum and substance of its of its purpose what's a practical what's a practical example of this we already read from Acts chapter 2 40 and and a little bit following but remember what preceded that what does Peter do when he opens up his mouth on the day of Pentecost which remember is an absolutely marvelous instance of the Grace and the strengthening power of God because only 50 days previous he was denying the very Christ that he proclaims on the day of Pentecost don't you see a glorious a glorious example of the the empowerment that God gives by his Spirit to Proclaimers of the word Peter before the the patio interrogations of a servant girl can't own Christ and yet 50 days later on the day of Pentecost before a multitude of sinners before a multitude of unbelieving Jews he opens up his mouth and with great boldness and great courage he proclaims the riches and the excellencies of Christ's and that's our point when he opens his mouth on the day of Pentecost it is a Christ full message the this man attested to you by miracles and signs and wonders which God did through him in your midst as you yourselves also know him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God you have crucified by lawless hands but that same Christ God has raised from the dead he did not see corruption but he has arisen victorious Christ is the the sum and substance of preachings purpose and what's an application that we can take from that reality one of the things is to know him to to learn about him to read your Bibles and to to understand you know on this point we we've been preaching through the book of Philippians and we've noted hopefully hopefully not to the the point of exhaustion we can never exhaust the truth of God but hopefully you're not tiring of learning of Christ from that small him and philippians 2 we have the the deity of Christ the full deity of Christ he's perfect Godhead and the full humanity of Christ he's perfect manhood yet without sin the knowledge of those two things that he is fully God and fully man in one person for our salvation is absolutely necessary you see there were those in the early church and they're around today no doubt who if they rejected the divinity of Christ then salvation was affected not just because they rejected the divinity of Christ but the scheme of salvation was affected they were they were called they were called by other names but they were called adoption ists and when they stole away from the reality of the person of Christ his inity what filled the gap in salvation or what replaced salvation was obedience to the law because you see this Christ was not divine by virtue of being equal with the father but this Christ gained his divinity by the performance of the law so you too must enter into eternal life and be given eyes diff you will by obedience to the law you see how our knowledge of Christ affects how will think concerning salvation if we reject the deity of Christ then we tear down the glorious reality of the the holiness of God the perfection of his law the law is drop down to a point where we weak and feeble in our humanity can still nevertheless obey it's every precept and be just like Christ exalted by the Father no no this one equal with the father comes down perfect in Godhead takes on perfect manhood and he gives his life for guilty sinners the perfection of his obedience unto the law in the stead of all those who believe and taking upon himself the laws curse in the stead of all those who believe by bearing the wrath of God in our stead upon that tree preaching we are to know him the prayer of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1 15 and following we won't go there right now but what a place that we have where the Apostle Paul praised and one of the repeated themes is that those for whom he is praying Ephesian Christians those for whom he is praying would have an understanding and a knowledge and the surpassing grasp upon the reality of the riches and the excellencies of Christ and the redemption of the sons of men we are to have an understanding and knowledge in a in a wisdom will close with this observation fourthly and lastly preaching has the cross as the apex of its content kids apex simply means the highest point preaching has the cross as the apex of its content notices if you can find your way back to our passage first Corinthians 1 what is the language of the Apostle here but language that exalts the glory of the cross sounds strange doesn't it exalting the glory of the cross why because the cross was an implement of of torture shame ignominy the most abject abasing humility and yet as Christians we lift it up as the apex of preachings content notice the Apostle Paul again in verse 21 for well first off remember in verse 18 for the message of the cross and then verse 21 for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know god it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe for Jews request a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block into the Greeks foolishness you see remember that the Jews could not endure a crucified Messiah that's the language of Spurgeon preaching on Galatians 6 14 the Jews could not endure a crucified Messiah they looked for pomp and they looked for power they couldn't endure this one executed upon a Roman jebet but you see in that is the wisdom of God in Christ upon a cross bloodied beaten defeated but not really defeated in that is the wisdom in the power of God Jews look upon that and they see scorn he's that he's a man of sorrows acquainted with grief we do not esteem that we do not esteem him they sought after pomp and power they wanted a messiah of you know a political and social victory a conqueror who would dash to pieces the Roman armies all those sorts of things one who sweeps in upon a upon a white steed but actually he does for Christians remember he's the one who rides upon a white steed victorious and true but you see the Jews wanted a not a bloody Messiah upon Calvary's cross they wanted a messiah of their own making a messiah of their folly of their own opinion Jews to Jews Christ was a stumbling block a dispersion in that quote would say something to the effect of our all our washings in it and all our ceremonies are these all to be put away and nothing remained but a bleeding Savior and Paul's answer is absolutely all of those washings all of those ceremonies all of those mosaic institutions had in them while while while virtuous and while ordained by God for their particular purpose wrapped up in their purpose was that they pointed forward as as shadows as as copies to the true the Lord Jesus Christ who would come in the fullness of the times and bring to an end those things which pointed forward to him Jesus Christ our Savior preaching has the cross as the apex of its content Paul that's when Paul says here it's a it's a striking statement in verse 2 of first Corinthians 2 for I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified if he has already said that in that in Christ crucified his true wisdom and true power then this doesn't surprise us does it for I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified we have practical examples like that in the in in the the preaching of the book of Acts the cross is not absent from the book of Acts as some scholars in their revisionist treatment of the book of acts like to steal away the the reality that the cross is a central element of preaching in the book of Acts we already noted but only briefly the fact of it being in Acts chapter 2 but in Acts chapter 5 we have the cross there as a central reality notice in Acts chapter 5 at at verse 30 we have these words but Peter backing up to verse 29 and the other apostles answered and said we ought to obey God rather than men the god of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree you see the this would have come as you know with with the weight of a multitude of daggers to the heart of these unbelieving Jews and remember that the two edged sword of the word of God cuts two ways in the book of Acts we have those examples brought forth where the word proclaim cuts to the heart and one response wrought by the Spirit of God is that they cry out sirs what must I do to be saved what must we do to be saved here in Anna or in other instances we have the reality where the word comes and they're cut to the heart but it's a different cutting to the heart in it and it results in men frothing at the mouth and and and being being caught up in venomous and murderous rage and putting for example to death a person such as godly Stephen but you see this would have cut to the heart because Peters proclamation contains the cross of Christ the god of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree the very thing that is the salvation and the only salvation of men the cross of Christ he uses here as a dagger in order to drive them to the realization that they were complicit in the murder of the son of God's love and that the weight of that proclamation would bring them to bend a knee to the king of kings into the Lord of lords you know that they cried out may his blood be upon us in our children the Apostle Peter here uses the weight of you know the weight of the proclamation to show them at the point not only did they violate that word which speaks to murder but they exercised the the horrific reality of transgressing that law upon the Prince of Peace the cross of Christ is brought as a dagger to the heart proclamation the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is at the apex of preachings content and will close with this application and that is we should be like Paul now I know when we've been preaching through the book of Philippians we've been noting that Christ is set forth as the chief exemplars people he's not only an example the saving work of Christ is first and foremost that which saves sinners to the uttermost but he's also an example as well though Paul and the Apostles are examples of those for for Christians and we are to follow after such as the Apostle Paul in Paul's letters we have the striking reality that what is at the heart of the Apostle Paul's Proclamation is Christ and him crucified we are to be like Paul where might we have an example in the Bible that we can sort of use as our point of application to be like the Apostle Paul god forbid that I should boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ crosses the crux of our Christianity the cross is this the apex of Christian Proclamation Paul Spurgeon wrote did not blench before the sharp and practical reply of the conquerors of the world he trembled not before Nero and his palace whether to Greek or jus Roman or barbarian bonder free he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ but Gloria in the cross he determined to know nothing saved Jesus Christ and him crucified his motto we preach Christ crucified he had the cross for his philosophy the cross for his tradition the cross for his gospel the cross for his glory and nothing else if you're here tonight and you're Christ's rejoice in the cross count preaching as a day of preaching is a day of high and heavy things if you're here tonight and you don't know Christ seek after the cross of Christ because it is only there that we have salvation it's only in the doing and the dying of the Son of God and in his rising again that we have salvation everyone who believes on him shall have everlasting life you know don't leave here tonight without closing with Christ without owning him as Savior it is possible only with God to have each and every one who draws breath in this room to leave these two doors singing hallelujah what a savior believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for time in your word we thank you for time and worship and we rejoice in our Christ and and in his cross and we thank you that you did send him in the fullness of the times born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who are under the law we pray Lord God that you would help us to rejoice in price to rejoice that we have heard the good word of proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ at some point by your spirit and word you brought us forth from deadness to life by the reality of Christ and him crucified and we pray that you would help us to own our Savior to rejoice in him and to live each day bringing glory to you and bringing honor to the Lord Jesus Christ we pray in his most precious name amen well let's stand and sing then as a doxology if you'll stand with me we'll sing him 35 stands a one that's him 35 stands a one Oh Oh now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you complete in every good work to do his will working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever amen we'll have a brief time of prayer and then you're dismissed after the piano is finished you