Authentic Worship

Authentic Worship

Mark 14:2-9

• DO YOU REMEMBER THIS: Flip Wilson was a popular comedian several years ago, and one of his characters was a Preacher at the “What’s Happening Now Church.” Flip did a Skit where he told about this preacher. He’d shout out: "IF THIS CHURCH IS GOING TO SERVE GOD IT’S GOT TO GET DOWN ON ITS KNEES AND CRAWL!!!" And the audience yelled back "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl! "AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO CRAWL, IT’S GOT TO GET UP ON ITS FEET AND WALK!!!" "Make it walk preacher, make it walk" the audience moaned. AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO WALK ITS GOT BEGIN TO LEARN TO RUN!!!" "Make it run, preacher, make it run!" "AND IN ORDER TO RUN, ITS GOT REACH DEEP DOWN INTO POCKETS AND LEARN TO GIVE!!!" (pause) "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl." Few things impact us like WORSHIP.

• As I was reminded this week, frequently in the Bible, the caricature of a woman is used as a type and shadow of the church. Luke 15 speaks of a woman who had 10 coins which she lost and so she begins lighting the light, cleaning the house, and searching for that which was lost.

• In Rahab, we see a picture of God’s children being protected and covered. In Hosea, it is Gomer the wife of infidelity (a nice word for the Bible word, ‘whoredom’) as a picture of the unfaithful church who has gone after other suitors (other gods). In Proverbs 31 we read about a virtuous woman which pictures a church working for the cause of her bridegroom.

• Today, we read a story of another woman – picturing another type of church, a church who adores her Lord, her bridegroom, and worships Him authentically.

• There is so much talk ABOUT worship today and what is amazing is this: Some of the people who believe themselves to KNOW WHAT WORSHIP should be are people who have never invested themselves enough to understand it. Not long ago I heard a preacher say, “If the average church member knew what worship really was, they would not bother with attending the service.” Why would a preacher say that you ask? Because of what worship is & what it demands.

• Listen to some of the calls in the Bible for us to worship. (ON SCREEN) Psalm 29:2, Psalm 95:6, Psalm 96, and John 4 are but a few. Yet, the greatest demonstration of worship are in scripture where the word is never used, but seen. The first picture that comes to my mind is of Isaiah in the 6th chapter. When he encountered Holy God, he fell on his face recognizing his own unworthiness as well as the sinfulness of his people. Immediately I think of Revelation 1 where John the Beloved got a vision of the Lord Jesus and fell on his face as a ‘dead man.’ The examples are endless, but now I come to this woman we have read about. We can identify the actions, attitudes, and affection of this woman as worship. She came to simply honor Jesus with her gift. She brought the best she had and gave it to Him. Interestingly, she didn’t sing any hymns, she didn’t sing praise songs, she didn’t recite some liturgy, and guess what, she didn’t care! Her focus was on Jesus.

• In his book “The Air I Breathe,” Louie Giglio gives this definition or description for worship. He said, “Worship is our response both personal and corporate To God – For who He is! And what He has done! Expressed in and by things we say and the way we live.”

• Today, take a look at this woman, what she did, what she gave, how she was received, and recognize that, without holding back, she gave Jesus all she had & gave the greatest picture of worship we can imagine.

• Worship is a powerful thing. Whatever we worship, we will invite people to! (ILLUS)

• Let take spiritual, Biblical, and Godly worship & examine it through the lens of our text.

1) Worship Is the Atmosphere of Heaven – When I use the word atmosphere I’m not speaking of air, sky, or the like; I’m referring to the ambiance, the impression, the feeling, the mood, the tone, or even the environment. In our text, they were simply eating – one preacher suggested that by now the disciples (& others) had grown used to Jesus and had lost some of their initial admiration. Perhaps, but one thing is true, the atmosphere changed when this woman entered the room and, with deep reverence and worship, offered her best to Him. I can sense the mood changing. All of a sudden they were not focused horizontally, they were forced to focus vertically (who He was).