Worship and The Spirit-Filled Church | Ephesians 5:18-20

Brothers and sisters, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5 Ephesians chapter 5. We are continuing in our series through Paul's epistle to the Ephesians. This morning we're going to be in verses 18 through 20 and to prepare us I want us to read from verse 15 through verse 21 Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15 through 21. Look carefully then how you walk. Not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery but be filled with the Spirit, dressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. This is the Word of the Lord. Friends in 1867 future American President James A. Garfield visited London for the first time. As a sincere Bible-believing Christian, Garfield eventually made his way to the famous Metropolitan Tabernacle. This church was the home of the storied evangelical Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who in God's hand led the congregation to a membership of several thousand people. Yet notably what stood out in Garfield's account of his visit was not the church's preacher. It was not the personality of Charles Spurgeon but rather the character of the congregation's worship. Listen to what Garfield wrote in his journal. He said the whole building was filled and overflowed with the strong volume of song. The music made itself felt as a living, throbbing presence that entered your nerves, your brain, your heart and filled and swept you away in its resisteless current. Friends, the source of Garfield's wonder was not the sight of a gifted man, but they portrait of a church filled by the Spirit of God. Friends Garfield saw that day a breathing expression of our Texas morning, namely a local church who went undone by the mercy of God, hail Jesus Christ in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Friends, this morning we're in Ephesians 5 verses 18 through 20. And this text tells us what we should expect when the Spirit of God fills the Christian community. There are great things that Christians should see. There are great things Christians should experience and feel if they are filled with the Spirit of God. The verses I'm expanding today talk about and expound the church's corporate worship. In verse 21, Paul says that such a church is comprised by saints who submit to one another out of reverence to Christ. So here's something that we should appreciate about our texts and the texts that follow in Ephesians 5. Paul is telling us in Ephesians 5 verses 18 through 21, these are the things that a Spirit-filled church looks like. And we're going to cover a few of those things today. He's going to say they sing God's praises. He's going to say that they're filled with thanksgiving. And then in verse 21, he's going to say they submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. That's verse 21. Then everything that follows in verses 22 through chapter 6 verse 9 is about how the people of God are to conduct themselves into the Christian household. So you're going to have instruction about marriage, about wives and husbands and children and parents and slaves and masters. All of those verses are expounding what it looks like to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. So that's all going to form the content of the sermons that follow today. In the meantime, we're going to be looking today at what the church does when they gather for worship. So you can think of it this way, verses 18 through 20 of chapter 5 instruct us on what a Spirit-filled church looks like when it's gathered. And then verse 21 through chapter 6 verse 9 tells us what the church looks like scattered. Does that make sense? So today we're talking about corporate worship in particular, the singing of God's people. I have two points this morning. Point number one, the need for the Holy Spirit. The need for the Holy Spirit and point number two, the acts of the Holy Spirit. Or you could say the evidences of the Holy Spirit. The need for the Holy Spirit and the acts or evidences of the Holy Spirit consider with me point number one, the need for the Spirit. Verse 18. Do not get drunk with wine. For that is the bottery, but be filled with the Spirit. Well friends, so most of this message I'm concerned about what the Spirit-filled church and the Spirit-filled life looks like. We cannot gloss over the beginning of verse 18. Paul says, "Do not get drunk with wine." Does this say don't drink wine? He says, "Do not get drunk with wine." And friends, I just think it's honest and important that I show to you my cards at this point. I don't think brothers and sisters that the Bible prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages, in particular wine, stated in a different way. It is extremely difficult to sustain any case that the scriptures bar believers from drinking alcohol. So for example, the Bible rather consistently commends the moderate use of wine. Having said that though friends, God's word vehemently opposes drunkenness. Drunkenness, the text says, is debauchery. Old Testament and New Testament authors alike have loads to say about excessive drinking. Almost constantly warning about the perils of wine and strong drink. And I think this is so important for us to consider, especially let's just say you came from a background that was teetotaling. And then in recent years or maybe in your adult life you think, "Oh, Christians can drink in moderation," and the Bible commends that. And you might be tempted to sneer at your teetotaling friends. And you might be tempted to think that Christians that are maybe against drinking alcohol or are legalistic. Let me caution you to not forget the Bible gives constant instruction and warnings against the sin of drunkenness and sins of gluttony and sins of excess. So here are just a few checks, Proverbs 20 verse 1. Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. Whoever is mastered by that substance, owned by it, influenced by it, that person is not wise as the Proverbs, Proverbs 23 says, "Who has woe, who has sorrow, who has contentions, who has complaining, who has wounds without a cause, who has redness of eyes?" Those who linger long over wine. Those who go to taste, mix wine. 1 Corinthians 5 verse 11. "Now I'm writing to you," Paul says, "not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual morality, or greed, or as an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler." Not even to eat with such a one. The Bible's teaching is if somebody calls themselves a Christian, and they live in unrepentant, excessive drinking. If they live in drunkenness, we're not to associate with such people. This is a sin that's not to be named among us. Friends, the point is simple. The scriptures pervasively call out the sin of drunkenness. Even beyond the Bible, I'm sure there are many of us here who can personally attest to the disastrous effects of alcohol. I have a grandfather. I've never met because he was killed by excessive drinking. Drunkenness friends ruins relationships. Drunkenness is a sin magnet, and it's a sin magnifier. It leads us. It is a sin, and it leads us to greater sin, and it magnifies existing sin. It exasperates sin. And it destroys lives. Some of us have struggled with alcoholism and addiction in the past. Maybe some of us struggle with that presently. Many more have probably had family members or loved ones struggle with these sins, these sins. And friends, what we just must realize is that just the statistics alone in this country are absolutely staggering. Excessive alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of death in the United States. About 178,000 people die each year in this country from excessive drinking. Think about that. Next time you're tempted to sneer at your legalistic tea-todalling friend. We live in a culture that is pilloried by alcohol abuse. R's is an age devoted to drunkenness. People invent games to get drunk. Colleges, sporting events, parties, and wedding celebrate drunkenness in broad daylight. daylight. And the Bible says, "That's wickedness." It is debauchery, it's foolishness, great evil in God's eyes. I want to give two applications on this first part of verse 15. First friends, we must resist, as Christians, a casual relationship to overdrinking. So if you are a person who chooses to embrace your Christian liberty, I think that's fine. But you must heed the warning of Scripture. Any relationship to alcohol that renders you mastered by that drink is grievous to God. For the Spirit-filled Church, such drunkenness ought not to be even named among us. Second application, friends, we should be mindful how we label alcohol abuse. Our culture often soft-pedal sin by labeling it as drunkenness, or labels drunkenness as mere addiction, or sickness, or illness, or syndromes for which people have no control or culpability. Now, hear me out on this. I believe that people, there are people who have more of a native proclivity towards addiction. But that doesn't absolve anyone of sin. I'm not against medical and psychological treatments of alcoholism, and I'm not even against the phrase alcoholism or alcoholic. But let's be mindful that we, as God's people, we call a spade a spade. We recognize sin as, and the Bible says, "Beware of drunkenness because it is debauchery." It's right out in the community of faith. Well, if that's what is to not characterize the people of God, what does the text say that we ought to be filled with? Says to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We have a category and our culture of being under the influence, driving under the influence. I think that's helpful when it comes to thinking about what Paul is saying in this text. Christians are not to be mastered, they're not to be governed, they're not to be living under the influence of foreign substances like alcohol. Rather, they are to live under the governing influence of the Holy Spirit. They are to keep in step with the Spirit of God. Well, friends, what do we know about the Holy Spirit? I want to ask a few questions to the Bible about who the Holy Spirit is. First, who is the Holy Spirit? Friends, the Holy Spirit is that third person of the Godhead. We talked about the Trinity, God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son. He shares in the same divine essence as the Father and the Son. So he's also a distinct person, and that means something very important, friends, the Spirit is a person, not a force. Stayed in a different way, the Holy Spirit is a personal, he, not a personal itch. When we pray for the Spirit's blessing in our lives, we're not playing that itch would be among us. No, the Spirit is a person, we can actually grieve the Holy Spirit. We are praying that he would be at work among us, who is the Holy Spirit, he's that third person of the Trinity. What does the Holy Spirit do? He does a lot of things, but friends, as I say, the Spirit is not the God of the mysterious strange and spontaneous impulses. We sometimes act in our day and age, like if there's anything sort of weird and wild and spontaneous in the Christian life, that is the Spirit at work. That's what the Spirit of does. He is the God of such impulses, but friends, we must realize that the Spirit's central role is that of revealer. The Spirit's central role is not obfuscation, but of clarity. He clarifies the Scriptures. He clarifies the person in work of Jesus Christ. He doesn't obscure. The Spirit of God, his central role is to reveal Jesus Christ to us and magnify him in our hearts. So, a few texts for this, John 16, verse 13 through 14. This is Jesus in the upper room, he says, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that ought to come. He, Jesus says, will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. The Spirit clarifies. The Spirit brings light, the Spirit brings understanding. We are made to know the Lord with greater fullness because of the Spirit's work, Ephesians 3, verse 14. Paul, he says, I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. There are many of us who have been taught in the Christian life, that to become a Christian, you have to ask Jesus into your heart. The Bible never evangelizes. The Apostles never evangelize people that way. I don't think that's entirely foreign concept to the Bible, though, because Paul does talk about we need to have Jesus Christ, he says, dwelling in our hearts. But he's talking to Christians there, and when he talks to Christians, he's saying one of the main things we need the Spirit of God to do in our lives is to cause Christ to dwell richly in our hearts, not to experience Christ for the first time, but with greater fullness to understand the love of Jesus Christ. That cannot happen in our lives apart from the ministry of God's Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 17 talks about how we behold the face of the glory of God, and or we behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The veil is removed, and this happens because of the work of the Spirit. Friends, the Holy Spirit is the new covenant spotlight, who shines upon the Lord Jesus Christ. What is to say, his central role is to reveal and magnify the Lord. We've seen who the Holy Spirit is. That's what he does. Now, let's ask a question. How does the Spirit operate? This is so important in understanding the nature of the Spirit's work in Christians' lives. In relationship to believers, God's Spirit is both static and dynamic. What do I mean by that? The Spirit is static, in the sense that every person on earth either has the Spirit or does not have the Spirit, and the Bible teaches that every Christian does have the Holy Spirit. So for every person in this room, you either have the Spirit or you don't. That's the static nature of the Holy Spirit, but the Bible also presents a degree to which the Spirit's ministry is dynamic. It's dynamic in the sense that we live with varying measures of the Spirit's power. Christians can be filled with the Spirit. Christians can grieve the Holy Spirit. The project of Christian experience is to exhibit more fruit of the Spirit. Christians are to put sin to death by the instrument of the Spirit. Christians are to keep in step with the Spirit. There's a dynamic ministry of the Spirit at work and congregations like ours and Christians like us. That's how the Spirit operates. He has a static nature and a dynamic nature. Now friends, closer to this text, I want to ask the question, "How are we to be filled with the Holy Spirit?" It's an odd command that Paul gives to us, so be filled with the Holy Spirit. Experience this passive verb. How are we as God's people, those who already have the Spirit residing within us? How are we to be filled with the Holy Spirit? I can't answer that question in totality today, but I want to say two things. The Bible teaches us about how we are to pursue the Spirit's filling in our lives. First Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit by asking for Him. It's incredible. Luke 11 Jesus says, "If you then who are evil, talking to His disciples, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for Him?" It's amazing. The Bible presents God the Father as pleased and poised and generous and ready to bestow upon us His Holy Spirit to those who ask with the eyes of faith. Many of us are not experiencing the Spirit's work in our lives because we're not asking for Him. I encourage you, brothers and sisters, that you're quiet time today, you're quiet time tomorrow. Take the Lord, plead with the Lord, that He would be so good to you as to cause His Spirit to run through your life and evidence itself with greater power. Ephesians 1 verse 17, Paul, he's often praying in his epistles for the work of the Spirit. He says, "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. You want to know what to pray for your brothers and sisters tomorrow, pray that they would be filled with the Spirit. The Spirit would be at work in their lives, clarifying the gospel, helping them understand Jesus Christ, illuminating the power of their salvation. That's what a Christian needs to grow in godliness. Christians are filled with the Spirit by asking for Him secondly. Christians are filled with the Spirit through faith. God's Spirit empowers faith, which leads to greater work of the Spirit. If you read the Bible, you'll find, if you read the New Testament, you'll find faith and the Holy Spirit are often linked inseparably with one another. So Stephen is referred to as being full of faith and the Holy Spirit in Acts 6. In Acts 11, Barnum is referred to as being full of the Holy Spirit and a faith. Wasn't there's benediction in Romans 15? Paul says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing." That is, "May you grow in faith so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope, the Spirit's work and the work of faith, they feed one another in the Christian life." Galatians 3, verse 2 says, "Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?" Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and work miracles among you? Do you so by works of the law or by hearing with faith? If the Spirit's at work in our lives, it is a product of greater faith of the people of God." Galatians 5, verse 5, Paul says, "For through the Spirit by faith we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness." Friends, the point is this, "Every effort made to expand and strengthen faith will lead to greater spiritual power in the Christian life." You want to see the Spirit's power manifest in your life. We must grow in faith. The fortification of faith is always followed by greater food to the Spirit. When preaching and exhortations are heated, faith expands. When scripture is memorized, faith is strengthened. When Christ is beheld in God's promises, faith is fed. When the communion of saints operates properly, faith will thrive. Rather than every means of grace, God is appointed to nourish your faith under the display of the Holy Spirit's power. We can be assured that where faith flourishes, spiritual fruit inevitably follows. That's how the Christian life works, that's how the Holy Spirit operates. That's how we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ through faith. If this is the need for the Holy Spirit, let's consider, secondly, the acts of the Holy Spirit. We're going to be in verses 19-20 for the rest of this sermon, mostly in verse 19. All says, "Adressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving things always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." In those verses, if we read on to verse 21, which says, "Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ," you have five verb participles. Five verb participles, those words that end in ING that are all modifying, being filled with the Holy Spirit. So what we're looking at in verses 19-20 and 21 are not means by which we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We're looking at things, actions, acts that follow the Spirit-filled community. So we see number one, addressing and teaching. Number two, singing, three, making melody, fourth, giving thanks, and fifth, submitting to one another. Those first three, I'm all going to cover in one heading. They're all referencing the sung praise of God's people, and if we have time, we'll talk about giving thanks at the end. Friends, I want to consider that first spiritual grace, the singing of God's people. I want to consider this under three headings. The function of Christian singing, secondly, the content of Christian singing, and third, the manner of Christian singing. We learn so much about this crucial element of what we do every Sunday from just this verse. Paul says, addressing one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, let's consider first the function of Christian singing. Friends, we see from this text, and many others, that Christians are called to teach one another, the word of God, through congregational singing. Paul says, addressing one another, that is speaking to one another. It's the same verb that Peter uses in 1 Peter 4, when he describes congregational worship, he says, whoever speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. In that context, speaking is, that teaching is referring to preaching. In our context, here, the idea is that membership in the local church requires the joy full, instructive, proclamation of God's people to one another. Gossians 3 makes this so plain. Gossians 3 verse 16 says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. How are we supposed to do that, Paul? He says, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Brothers and sisters, to be a Christian is to belong to the new humanity of God's people. That means, according to the Bible, you belong to a local church. Which means that you are an essential building block to that church. The language Peter uses is, we are spiritual stones. When we gather on the Lord's Day, we're forming a habitation of praise to our God. Now follow this, if every member is essential to what a church is, and if corporate worship is essential to church life, then every member is essential to corporate worship. Friends, the implication of that is we are not audiences in the gathering of God's people. We're not audiences here. We are eager and active participants in the worship of God. Christian, that means you have a job description in the body of Christ, and that job is to exhort the whole congregation in the praise of God's people. You have a calling, you're to exhort, you're to let the word of Christ to cause it to dwell in you richly. The means that the Spirit has shown us for that to happen is the singing of God's praises. You should think about this every time you gather with Trinity Church. I have a job description today. Maybe I'm reading a prayer, maybe I'm playing a piano, maybe I'm preaching a sermon, but I know I have one job, and that is to enter into the praise of God's people. This is not optional in the Christian life. It is a blood-bought duty of every child of God to sing God's praises with His people. You happen called to this, the whole congregation is to praise God. It is the great means by which we cause the word of Jesus Christ to dwell within us richly. That's the function of Christian singing. I want to now focus on the content of Christian singing, and we'll probably spend most of our time on this. The content of Christian singing, Paul says we are to sing, songs, hymns, and spiritual songs, commentators vary as to whether or not these are three words that deserve to describe the same thing, or if Paul has two or three types of songs that Christians should sing. It's interesting that word, spiritual actually modifies all three of those nouns. So it's kind of like Psalms, hymns, and song spiritual. Spiritual Psalms, spiritual hymns, spiritual songs. Friends, I tend to think that Paul is telling his readers they ought to sing the Psalms of the Old Testament along with new hymns. Regardless, the idea is clear that Christians should be singing songs that are full of the Word of God. The songs of a local church, they must be theologically rich with the Word of Jesus Christ if they are to sustain the faith of saints. I think it was Gordon Fee who famously said, "Show me a church's songs." Show me a church's music, and I will tell you their theology. I will tell you what that church believes. That's a sad indictment for many of the churches in our day and age, because there are so many songs that may or may not assert error, but they say almost nothing worth saying. This is, friends, why when anybody gives me a song that they think that Trinity Church should sing, I think that's wonderful. Please send me songs if you think there are songs that the church should be singing. But one of the first things I do if I've never heard the song before, because music is so powerful, is I'll read the lyrics first, because I don't want to be manipulated by the tune to distract from the content of what's being sung. And the problem with so many songs that are written today is they say almost nothing. There's no error in it, because nothing was even said. And there's no truth that I can get the people of God to sing their teeth into. And I'm told I am commanded by God to cause the word of Christ to dwell in us richly. Not slightly, we need verities, we need truth, we need meat, we need something that will nourish us as we face life and death. I think about this so often, when you come to meet the Lord, if you are on your deathbed, it's unlikely you'll be reciting my sermons. It's actually quite likely that you'll be singing songs. And you'll remember on Christ's solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand when he shall come. Oh, oh, may I then and him be found. On that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. There in the ground his body lay, light of the world by darkness slain, then bursting forth with glorious day, up from the grave he rose again, you'll remember those songs, because you sing them with God's people a thousand times, friends, the songs that we sing are teaching us the word of God. It matters what we sing. Perhaps the reason so many evangelical churches are dying in the vine is because they choose songs that say nothing worth saying. But friends, I want to linger for a moment on the Psalms here. The Bible teaches that the content of Christian singing should not only be biblical, but they should also center on the Psalms. I don't think that means that we must sing more Psalms than any other type of song, but it must mean that we ought to be singing Psalms. Perhaps you've wondered why Trinity Church, we make a point in singing Psalms as often as we do. Isn't that something only Presbyterians and Anglicans do? And they're kind of weird. Well friends, I'm not sure what every tradition does, but there are several reasons we sing Psalms at Trinity Church. Here are three reasons we sing Psalms at Trinity Church. First and plainly, the New Testament commands us to sing Psalms. The New Testament commands us to sing Psalms. The Bible teaches that the content of Christian singing, excuse me, Psalms singing is more than just a good idea. It's an apostolic command. Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, listen to this. They are the only two texts in the New Testament that comment on the Gather Church is singing. So if we want to know what God wants us to do on Sunday morning when we come to sing, the two texts that should loom largest in our minds are Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5, these parallel texts, and both of those songs command us to sing Psalms. Not only does Paul want believers to sing the Psalter, but he understands such a practice to be an indispensable means of discipling other believers. Christians help other Christians follow Jesus by singing Psalms. It's a small wonder that there's no book that's quoted more in the New Testament than the Psalter. It's the most quoted book in the New Testament because it's so central to the Christian life. So first, the New Testament commands us to sing Psalms second. The Psalms friends, they convey the breadth and depth of Christian experience. The Psalter presents the Christian life alive and living color. They represent the full range of godly emotions in every shade and contour. There is not a Christian sentiment unexpress in the book of Psalms. No Christian feeling that's not lent life and given voice by the Psalter. The Psalms include Ernest Pleas to the Lord. They deliver rebukes to the wicked. They rehearse the wonderful works of God. They rouse into action. They sigh into stress. They triumph in hope. They bellow in lament. Friends, the Psalms they reflect on the past. They ponder the present. They anticipate the future. They speak in the first person, the second person, the third person. They have individual elements. They have corporate elements. As the Psalms represent the many facets of the godly life, so they must be sung in Christian worship. Friends, I believe that the disappearance of Psalms singing explains some of the shallowness of modern worship. I had an unbelieving friend once tell me. He said, "I would love to come to church. I'm interested in the Bible. I'm interested in what you people say about the gospel. I'd be so much more inclined if there wasn't any singing." That's because he found Christian singing to be so fake. He found it to be so inauthentic. He found it to be so poor in reflecting actual reality. I think I know many Christians who feel the same way. Rather than could the reason why so many people find contemporary Christian worship unappealing be its obvious inauthenticity, Christian maturity cannot be sustained by triumphalists, happy clappy pick me up diddies designed to motivate us through another week. We need songs that express the profound depths of Christian experience. Think about the brothers and sisters in this gathering. Think about the Christians in your life, that brother who's losing a job, that sister that's struggling with poverty, that couple that is dealing with the great sorrow of childlessness, that person who has been betrayed. We need songs that give godly, righteous vent to such sorrow. And you just don't find that in the wider Christian world. It's, oh, let me just find some sort of cold play type song that's going to pick me up. Well friends, that is not the entirety of Christian experience. Our songs should reflect all the rhythms that believers run through in the courts of their lives. The Psalms teach us to lament, they teach us to trust, they teach us to wait, they teach us to rejoice, they teach us to confess sin, they teach us to celebrate God's forgiveness, to love His promises, ponder His judgment. When we read and sing the Psalms, we rehearse the full range of motion of a right relationship with God. Thirdly, friends, the Psalms connect us to the past. It is important for us, I think, especially Evangelical Baptist, to realize that up until approximately five minutes ago, Psalms singing was the norm in the church. If you read church history, people have got to sing always singing Psalms and primarily singing the Psalms. Though not without ancient roots and biblical precedent, the now common practice of singing hymns is largely a phenomenon of the 18th century. The father of modern hindity was Isaac Watts. He died in the mid-1700s. That might sound like it's a long time ago, it's not that long ago. And Isaac Watts himself is rolling in his grave right now because he intended modern hymns to accent and compliment the singing of Psalms. He didn't want them to completely replace the Psalms. No, Psalms have nourished the people of God for millennia. It was the congregational singing of Luther's Vittenberg that was marked by Psalms. The Psalms were what fueled the Reformation recovery of biblical worship. Calvin's Geneva also centered on the Psalter. Moreover, it was the Psalms that helped preserve biblical truth in the medieval church despite the doctrinal innovations of Rome. God has used the Psalms to preserve his people for hundreds of years. And friends, this is why this matters today. We live in an age where many Christians, particularly young people, are abandon evangelicalism. And their abandoned churches like ours for the perceived stability of Roman Catholicism and denominations like Eastern Orthodoxy. They look at evangelical worship services with their light shows and TED talks and long for something more lasting. They want a firmer foundation for their feet. So they turn to something they think is more historically rooted but riddled with error. Friends, this trend is deeply concerning but it's not without good reason. Our faith, brothers and sisters, is a rooted faith. Christianity is a historic faith. Our wish worship, our liturgy, is a historically rooted worship. Rather, when we sing the Psalms, we are not only connecting to our faith to Anselm and to Augustin and Athanasius, but we are also tracing our spiritual heritage to the prophet Ezra, to King David and the prophet Moses. It was the Psalms that filled the tabernacle that later echoed into the temple. It was the Psalms that gave voice to the hall of faith of Hebrews 11. And we as God's people, we must join the course. The content of singing in the local church must be robustly biblical. We must sing Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Okay, we've seen the function of Christian singing. We've seen the content of Christian singing. Now thirdly, the manner of Christian singing. There are at least two things to highlight here, friends. First, Christian singing in the local church must be heartfelt. Paul says, singing from your hearts. The text says, we sing and make melody with our hearts. Spurgeon once said that our singing should be such that God hears it with pleasure, singing in which there is not so much art as heart, not so much musical sound as of spiritual emotion. I saw one writer and theologian say that what a church sings will tell you what they believe. Now they sing will tell you if they believe it. Friends, that's something we should think about every Lord's day. My singing is to look like something. It is to feel like something. And yes, the Lord looks at the heart, but the heart manifests itself and the heart felt singing of God's praises. Our worship brothers and sisters is not the mercenary musings of begrudging servants. Be sing triumphantly as ransom recipients of God's mercy. So, Christian singing in the local church is to be heartfelt. Secondly, this is very important. Christian singing in the local church is to be congregational, not performative. It's congregational, not performative. The only instrument commanded in the New Testament to be used in corporate worship is the human voice. That does not mean we are not free to use other instruments. We can use an organ, we can use a piano, we can employ a well-trained band, but the necessary thing, the thing that we cannot do without is the singing of God's people. Whatever musical program you have in a local church, it must accentuate a congregation of blood-bought saints. Now I would say an untrained choir. The Biblical blueprint for a godly church music program is whatever. ever accentuates the singing of the people of God. Church music must be congregational. And friends, I am far from indifferent to the quality of good music and the skilled musicians, but it is a microscopic importance to me, compared to the rigor with which the people of God are to sing from their hearts. My goal as a pastor at Trinity Church, our goal as elders is to get this congregation of redeemed saints to sing the most truth to the highest possible decibel. Friends, a highly-trained band, state-of-the-art production, fog machines and mood lighting are not marks of a spirit-filled church. Rather, we look for ordinary Christians maximally singing their hearts out to the true living God. That is worship. That's truth. That's the spirit's work at work in our lives. We are so amazed by the grace of God. We're so trained by the rhythms of His grace that when we gather together, we can't help us sing His praises. I don't want this church to ever be a church where you can't hear each other's voices. Because the Bible says that the way the word of Christ well is richly in my heart, and your heart is by hearing your brothers and sisters. And if the music is so loud that you can't hear the person next to you or your own voice, that's sin. And we're not to engage in that type of performance. That is idolatry. No, we are to worship God according to the means that He's giving us in the scriptures. I'm not saying we can't use instruments. I'm not saying we can't sing different styles of music. But I'm saying the necessary precondition to Christian worship is that the people of God, their singing, is what's magnified because it's that voice that honors the Lord our God. Brothers and sisters, it is our duty to teach the word of Christ through congregational singing. And I just want to say, I am so amazed by the way the spirit has been evident at Trinity Church with the way you all sing is the most encouraging thing to be a pastor here each Lord's day. I can count of the people, the members of Trinity Church, to sing their hearts out. For friends, there are many Christians who refrain from singing on Sundays. Perhaps they don't like the songs, or maybe they think they're bad singers, or perhaps they just don't feel like singing. If that describes you, if you're a Christian who doesn't sing in church on Sundays, I'm interested to know how you determine which commands you do obey. Because certainly it's not based on the clarity of the Bible. There are over 400 references to the singing of God's people in the scriptures. 50 of them are direct commands to sing. The largest book in the Bible is The Psalms, which is a hymn book. It's the most quoted book in the New Testament. It was Jesus's hymn book. Evidently, it is of paramount importance to our God that his people, every last one of them, sing his praises. There is no excuse to not sing in the local church. It is your command. And if you're interested in joining Trinity Church, and you don't intend to sing in our services, this is one reason-- this is a thing that can lead even to church discipline. Because we believe this is a part of a church covenant. We will joyfully enter into the singing of God's people in this church. It's not optional in the Christian life. We don't wait until we feel like obeying God before we obey Him. Friends, I'm obligated to say a word here to the fathers and the parents. Friends, children will rarely enter into worship if their parents fail to do so. If you're a father in the room, and you're wondering how to raise your child in the fear and instruction of the Lord, one of the greatest things you can do is so simple, and it is to sing. It is to enter in with God's people and join the chorus of redeemed saints. Your children will notice what you get excited about. I sing today because when I was a child, my tone deaf father sang in church. And I assure you there's nothing about my long island, Sicilian blue collar father that would tell you, this is a man who's oriented towards singing. But he was a Christian. And his life was changed by the gospel. And he was growing. And he took God out his word. And he sang because he was obedient to his Lord. And he sang because he loved his Lord. And my first understanding of Christianity, I knew, before I knew that Jesus was worth loving, I knew my father loved Jesus. And I knew the gospel must be true because it how it changes him. Parents, you're informing the impressions of what your children think about God by the way you worship him on Sundays. Your posture and gatherings like this are one of the greatest means that God can use for this congregation to evangelize our neighbors, especially the next generation, especially our children. Authentic Christian worship might be the most marvelous means we have for evangelism. For brothers and sisters, I want to close by highlighting what Paul says here about thanksgiving. And this goes right in hand with singing because there isn't spirit-filled Christian singing. That is not filled with thanksgiving. Paul says in verse 20, "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Once more, we see an inseparable link between the Christian life and thanksgiving. The gospel gratitude is one of the greatest pieces of evidence of the spirit's work. Friends, the being Christian is to recognize God's spectacular grace in all things. That's why I want us to notice that the extent of spiritual gratitude, it's total. It's not just on sunny days. It's not just what my job's going well. No, it is in all things through Jesus Christ. When does the spirit-filled church give thanks always? Every instance is occasion for thanks. For what is the spirit-filled church thankful? Everything. For those in Christ, all providence redounds to our eternal benefit. I can know if I'm a child of God, call it going to his purpose. If I love the Lord Jesus Christ, all things work together for my ultimate good. Therefore I can, even the most great suffering in the deepest sorrow, be thankful and kiss the hand of God's providence because I know it is working out a great eternal outcome for my soul. Through whom does the spirit-filled church give thanks? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's not a throwaway phrase that we give thanks to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. But as sisters, our Thanksgiving like all of our prayer is offered to God through Christ because of who we are. Our indelible status in Jesus makes access to God possible. Therefore all of our praise, all of our confession, our thanks and petitions are to be made cognizant of our union to Jesus. Paul says in Crosion 3, whatever you do in Word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Giving thanks to God, the Father, through Him. Hebrews 13 says, through Him, then let us continue off, continually offer up sacrifice of praise to God. Friends, everything we are and all we have is attributable to Christ. The past, present and future ministry of Jesus is our only hope of access to the Father. We thank God the Father for what Christ has done for us as He stood condemned in our place. We praise God for what Christ does for us as He intercedes for us in heaven. And we bless God because of our future hope in Jesus Christ when He will come again in power, when He comes our glorious King. All His ransom, home to bring, then anew. This song will sing, hallelujah. What a savior. We give our thanks to God, the Father, through the name of Jesus Christ. Everything I am comes from His hand. Let's go to the Word and prayer. Father, we thank You for the work of Your Holy Spirit. And Your Word tells us that You are pleased to give Your Spirit to those who ask for Him. So Father, we pray that the people here at Trinity, myself, the congregation, the leadership, are young ones that we would know a spirit filled life. And that Your Spirit would so bless this congregation that we swell with praise, the strongest volume possible. Lord, not as an effort to perform, not as an effort to impress, but as a token of Your marvelous grace to us, the mercy that we've experienced through Jesus Christ, Father, make us a thankful people, make us a submitting people, make us a singing people. We ask all of these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.