Meeting The With-Us God Series

MEETING THE WITH-US GOD

Matthew 17:1-8

S: Worship

Th: Seeing the Unseen Christ: How His Presence Transforms Life

Pr: WORSHIP JESUS WITH GENUINE ENTHUSIASM.

?: Why?

KW: Needs

TS: As our study in Matthew 17:1-8 demonstrates, we should worship Jesus with genuine enthusiasm because He meets our needs.

The ____ need that Jesus meets is…

I. PERSPECTIVE

II. DIRECTION

III. HUMILITY

IV. ENCOURAGEMENT

RMBC 2/25/01 AM

INTRODUCTION:

DRAMA—“First Love”

Do you remember the emotion of “first love”?

I am not speaking of what we sometimes call “puppy love,” but the beginning of committed love.

Do you remember that feeling of being enraptured with another?

It was all so different and you were thrilled just to be with them.

On top of that, everything felt so vital and real.

Joyfully, you felt that nothing could stop you as long as this other person was a part of your life.

It is funny how that “first love” makes us different.

TRANSITION:

As crazy as this may sound…

1. The Bible teaches us that our relationship with Jesus is like a bridegroom and His bride (Ephesians 5:25ff.).

It is a powerful love relationship.

It is bonded with commitment.

Jesus is absolutely committed to us as His bride.

And it is an emotional relationship as well, for He carries for us, His people, an unrelenting passion, a passion that brought Him to the cross on our behalf.

You know…

2. When we are in relationship, we enjoy being in the presence of each other.

ILL Personal

You know, my most miserable times are when Dondra goes to PA and leaves me home alone. For one day, it is really great! I do all the things that I have been waiting to do without interference. That takes one day. And then I start feeling this lostness, skulking around the house. Even though there is plenty to do, it seems as if there is nothing to do.

Do you know why?

It is because we are made for relationship.

And when we have a love that has had “first love,” we want to be with them.

We are not content to be alone.

Our relationship with Jesus ought to be the same way.

We should never be content to live without Him.

3. The great thing about being a Christian is that Jesus is present wherever we are.

That is great!

Christ is here because you are.

He is in each one of us that knows Him as Savior and Lord.

And as we gather together today as His body, He is here!

We brought in a very special guest today—Jesus!

We brought Jesus in physically today.

OK, so this one is not quite the real thing, but we hope that you were clued in enough to think about it.

We have dramatized Jesus so that you might think what it would be like if Jesus were physically here.

Would you do things differently?

Would you pay attention more?

How would you react to Him as He engaged you in conversation?

You see, just as this dramatized Jesus is physically here, it is no less true that Jesus is here spiritually.

This is reality.

But…

4. We often forget that He is here.

We live in a society that only believes what is seen.

Do you think that affects us?

Sure it does.

Because, you see, when we come to worship, we act more like we are pretending than believing.

So, how do we get past that?

What is a proper response to the spiritual reality that Jesus is here?

Have you ever experienced something so significant, that it demanded a response?

Have you looked on the face of a newborn baby and marveled at its tiny features that were so exquisitely shaped?

Have you admired the beauty of a sunset so spectacular that it took your breath away?

Have you looked into the eyes of a loved one and knew the deep joy of that person’s affection?

That’s what worship is.

It is a heartfelt response to the beauty, majesty and love of God.

And this is all displayed in Christ Jesus.

This is why today, we want to encourage you to…

5. WORSHIP JESUS WITH GENUINE ENTHUSIASM.

I think if we were more aware of Christ’s Presence in our midst, it would change us.

When we are cleaning, painting or moving something in this place, we would whistle with joy at the opportunity to do it for God’s place.

When we are teaching, we would prepare diligently.

When we are greeting or ushering (ushing), we would sense the privilege of helping worshipers adore Christ.

When we are singing or playing music, we would rehearse intensely to do as well as we were able for Jesus.

As we look at our Scripture text this morning, there is plenty of reason to worship.