OUR WORSHIP OF GOD
Various Text (Series 5 Functions of the Church)
Introduction
One writer notes that:
Worship in our time has been captured by the tourist mind set. Worship is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure. For some it is a weekly jaunt to church. For others, occasional visits to special services. Some, with a bent for Christian entertainment and sacred diversion, plan their lives around special events like retreats, rallies and conferences. We go to see a new personality, to hear a new truth, to get a new experience and so, somehow, expand our otherwise humdrum lives. We’ll try anything -- until something else comes along.
1 Our Worship of God Is Decreed.
2. Our Worship of God Is Directed.
3. Our Worship of God Is Demonstrated.
1 Our Worship of God Is . . Decreed.
A. Decreed for the . . Earth. Matt 4:10 (NAS)
10 Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, ’You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’"
1. Temptations will Come to Worship the World.
2. Temptations will Come to Serve Self Etc.
B. Decreed for the . . Eternal. Rev 14:7
7 and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." (NAS)
1. Reverence.
2. Judge.
3. Creator.
Illustration Bow before the Great
The one essential condition of human existence is that man should always be able to bow down before something infinitely great. If men are deprived of the infinitely great, they will not go on living and will die of despair. The Infinite and the Eternal are as essential for man as the little planet on which he dwells. -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leadership, Vol. 19, no. 1.
Application
Do you follow direction as you worship? I mean the direction of the Holy Spirit. Worship is Decreed in scripture.
2. Our Worship of God Is . . Directed.
A. Directed In the . . Spirit. Phil 3:1-3
1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things {again} is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the {true} circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, (NAS)
B. Directed In the . . Truth. John 4:21-24
21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. 22 "You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (NAS)
1. Involves the Heart
2. Involves the Head.
Application
If we realize our worship is decreed by the word of the Lord do we also realize the Lord gives us direction in worship?
3. Our Worship of God Is . . Demonstrated.
A. Demonstrated On the . . Earth. Heb 1:6
6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, "And let all the angels of God worship Him." (NAS)
1. Angels Worshiped with Sayings, Praise, Sharing.
B. Demonstrated In the . . Eternal. Rev 4:9-11
9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created." (NAS)
1. Demonstrated In Praise of His . . Position. v 9-10
2. Demonstrated In Praise of His . . Presence v 9 -10
3. Demonstrated In Praise of His . . Power. v 9 -10
Illustration
In his book, Psalms of the Heart, George Sweeting illustrated a great truth from the experience of two Moody graduates, John and Elaine Beekman. God called them to missionary work among the Chol Indians of southern Mexico. Sweeting reports that they rode mules and traveled by dugout canoes to reach this tribe. They labored 25 years with other missionaries to translate the New Testament into the language of the Chol Indians. Today more than 12,000 Christians make up the Chol Christian community. What’s interesting is that when the missionaries came, the Chol Indians didn’t know how to sing. With the coming of the gospel, however, the believers in the tribe became known as "the singers". "They love to sing now," Sweeting commented, "because they have something to sing about."
Application
To worship is:
To quicken the conscience by
the holiness of God.
To feed the mind with the
truth of God.
To purge the imagination with
the beauty of God.
To open the heart to
the love of God.
To devote the will to the
Purpose of God.
-- William Temple
1 Our Worship of God Is Decreed.
2. Our Worship of God Is Directed.
3. Our Worship of God Is Demonstrated.
