First Baptist Church
PDL - Why Worship?
February 16, 2020
Every Sunday morning a handful of people from our surrounding towns comes to church. Every man, woman and child has a story - a life that goes on from Monday through Saturday. Age doesn’t matter. We all have a story.
For some folks - it’s been a great week, there were victories and celebrations, for others, it was just another week, it came and it went. For still others, it wasn’t what you wanted. Maybe it was the job, maybe it was home life, maybe it’s health related. Whatever it is, good, not so good, or anywhere inbetween, we all have a story. It’s a daily story which becomes a life story . . . and it’s our story.
Some of you rushed to get here this morning. You barely made it in the doors. Some of you were trying to decide if you wanted to go out in the winter weather; or you just weren’t really feeling it, but you’re here. And I’m super thrilled you’re here!
What we spoke about last week and are moving into for the next few weeks are really, really important about who Christ is calling us to be. Last week I stated, “you are what you value.” I believe our values drive us, they lead us to make certain decisions and say and do certain things. In the end, our values, which may be learned, ultimately come from within.
As we look at our purpose in life, for the next couple of weeks we’re going to look at worship. What is worship, why worship and how can we worship when we’re all so different - with so many different likes and dislikes.
Really, what’s at stake when you walk into this building? I tried to think about the progression. I think it can change, but I believe it’s --
Why worship
What is worship, then
How to worship
The first 2 kind of go together, yet are different . . . and the 3rd one is the tough one, because we’re all different and have different tastes when it comes to music, prayer, fellowship, and sermons. But there are some commonalities that we can all practice which should draw us closer to God and one another in worship. And in the end, I think you may be surprised with what I’m going to say. Not so much today, but especially next week.
In the last book and chapter of the Bible, in Revelation 22, the apostle John is giving us this amazing glimpse of heaven. The chapter starts off with so much joy and hope. I want to read the first 7 verses of Revelation 22, to give you a back drop to what John is experiencing and to what he does. John tells us --
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him.
4 They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
This is what John was witnessing and passing along to us. John is overwhelmed with what the angel is telling him. Consider what John’s hearing . . . we will see God face to face, there will no longer be night, but God’s light is all we need. We will live forever, nothing will be accursed. We’ll always be in God’s presence. John can barely contain himself. He then writes –
8 And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,
9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” - Revelation 22:8–9
Do you see the simple command from the angel? The angel said, ‘don’t worship me, don’t worship angels, don’t worship man, . . . WORSHIP GOD.’
That’s great advice . . . because we have a habit of worshiping people. Yet, we come back to the question again and again, but why worship God? For most of the rest of our time together this morning, that’s my goal, to help us see why we should worship God. You may come up with more, and if you do, email them. I’d love to have a long list of reasons to worship God.
God is the Alpha and the Omega. God is the beginning and the end.
As the beginning and the end, this is a reference to no one but the true God. Jesus made this statement in Revelation 22:13, where Jesus proclaims --
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. - Revelation 22:13
Jesus is saying He was at the beginning of all things and He will be at the close of all things. It’s the same as Him saying, He always existed and always will exist.
Isaiah identifies Jesus as the God of the Old Testament. Isaiah wrote --
4 I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last I am He.” Isaiah 41:4
6 I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God” - 44:6
12 I am He; I am the first, I also am the last. - 48:12
These are clear indications of the eternal nature of God.
Christ, as the Alpha and Omega, is the “author and finisher” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is the beginning and source of grace through faith. Jesus is the first and last, the all in all of salvation. He is the author of grace and the finisher of judgement.
God is also the Creator
It was through Christ, who brought about the creation. John tells us –
3 Through Him (Jesus) all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. - John 1:3.
In Revelation 4, John saw a vision of God on His throne in heaven. Surrounding the throne are 4 living creatures and 24 elders. They’re worshiping God, saying -
11 Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you CREATED all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
They’re proclaiming that God is worthy of our worship because He created all things. Our creation is amazing and mind boggling. The size and complexity of the universe is incomprehensible to most of us. From the smallest particle to the largest galaxies, it is all intricate and super natural. The more we learn of this world, the more wonderful it is revealed to be.
We look at an artistic masterpiece, an amazing athletic or musical performance, or an amazing feat of engineering and give praise towards the one who created or performed it. They are thought to be worthy of praise because of what they’ve done. How much more praise should we give to God who created the world?
Jeremiah tells us --
17 ‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. - Jeremiah 32:17
Another reminder that God is the creator of the heavens and the earth and nothing is too difficult for God. That’s true in all aspects of our lives. That’s something we need to hold onto when we consider God.
More than any other person, place or thing, the creator of us and the world around us which we can see, and can’t see is worthy of our praise and worship.
We worship God because He is our Redeemer / our Savior!
Not only did God create this world, but He came to redeem and save you. I can list lots of Bible passages, but want to give you a few to remind us of what God did for us. We can start with the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life -
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:11
John tells us -
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. - 1 John 4:10
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. - 1 Peter 1:18-19
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, - Ephesians 1:7
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
8 but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:6, 8
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9
21 For our sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21
Throughout the pages of the Bible, God is always working to call people to Himself. And, God gets really personal, because God calls you and I to trust, believe, to have faith in Him as our Redeemer.
We are sinners in need of grace. We were separated from God because of our sin. But God sent His Son so that none should perish, so that none should be condemned, but that all would have the opportunity to experience the grace, love and power of Jesus.
God sent Jesus to be the sacrifice we needed, but didn’t deserve. God imputed His righteousness to us, so that now we can stand before God and be viewed as righteous, a forgiven saint in the eyes of our Savior. Because of that - God chose us and adopted us into His family. I’m one of His kids - - and so are you, and we now have the hope of this life and hope of an eternal future.
Why did God do that? It wasn’t because of anything I did or will do. It’s because God created me, and as my creator, God, by the way, created me in His image, He loved and loves me and wants me to be in a relationship with Him. And one way for me to relate to God is to worship Him, to talk to Him and open my heart, spirit, mind and body so that I could listen to Him as well.
Ultimately, as we draw closer to God, we realize more and more qualities about God’s nature. We see more of His character drawing us to Him over and over again. We come to understand His nature is to love. Add to His love, that He extends grace and mercy. That He is merciful and compassionate, He is Sovereign and just. God is all powerful, He is omnipotent, He is omniscient, all knowing, God is immutable, never changing, He is everywhere at the same time,
He is forgiving, He is kind and gentle, He wants to take our burdens upon Himself. God never sleeps on the job, God is faithful. God promises to never abandon us. He is Lord, Leader, Friend, Rescuer, Redeemer, Savior, Healer, Provider, God of the heavenly armies . . . in the end, we summarize who God is simply by saying what John said (1 John 4:8) - - - - God is love.
In the end, everyone will bow before God and worship him as Lord. When we all stand before Him, His glory and majesty will overwhelm each one of us. We will bow then, not because we are forced to, but because we will acknowledge that God is worthy of our worship.
But how much better it will be if we worship him now. He is our creator, Lord, and redeemer. Our natural response to God should be to bow down before Him. To humble ourselves in His presence.
So, the call today and every day is to just that for what we’ve talked about this morning . . . to WORSHIP GOD!
