Sermon Central
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Call On God In Worship! Series
Contributed by John Dobbs on Oct 19, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: Today we are going to talk about worship - but not what we do in worship - how we do it! In our series of Calling on God, we have called upon Him for help, guidance, and belonging. Today we call upon Him in Worship.
Call on God in Worship
Introduction
Humorist, Erma Bombeck, reported an experience she had in church. A row or two in front of her sat a mother with a normal five-year-old boy, which means, he couldn’t sit still. As he squirmed and looked over the pew at those behind him, he was smiling. Then Erma heard the mother sternly whisper, “Stop smiling! Don’t you know that we’re in church?” (Via Cole) Today we are going to talk about worship - but not what we do in worship - how we do it! In our series of Calling on God, we have called upon Him for help, guidance, and belonging. Today we call upon Him in Worship. We are moving a few generations from the epic story of Ruth to her great-grandson, King David at the time of his life when he is moving into power as King of Israel.
2 Samuel 5:1-5 NLT
Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader.’” So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
From this account, we see several elements of calling on God in WORSHIP!
1. Celebration and Exaltation (2 Samuel 6:1-5)
2 Samuel 6:1-5 NLT
Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, 30,000 in all. He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart that carried the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
David always has God at the center of his heart, but he is also a shrewd king. He has designs on establishing Jerusalem as the City of David - the center of influence. He decides to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. This establishes Jerusalem as the center of the presence and power of God. It is a signal to all surrounding nations of God’s blessing, including military victory. It is a signal to Israel and Judah that together God will be with them. A sign to all that David is indeed the King in power. In this way, the Ark takes center stage of this celebration.
It’s an exciting celebration involving thousands to people and an enthused David. Think of all he has overcome since the day Samuel had Jesse call David in from the fields to anoint him as the new King. Years have passed… dangerous years of fleeing for his life, the loss of his best friend, and awaiting the promise of God - and now it is coming to be a reality.
We have a picture of worship as both celebration and exaltation!
Cole: David Watson, an English Anglican pastor, who wrote, “What is clear from the Scriptures is that worship should be a delight, not a duty. The great Jewish feasts were times of exuberant joy and heartfelt celebration. Some of them contained an element of sorrow and repentance for sin; but this led to the joy of knowing God’s forgiveness and mercy. They were always intended to be great and glorious festivals....Infectious joyful delight in God’s presence needs urgently to be recaptured by the church of today. (I Believe in the Church [Eerdmans], pp. 196, 197).”
Notice the intensity of this celebration - dancing, shouting, music. This is not a description of the church gathered, but it does teach us that we should celebrate all that God has done for us! Three things the Psalms tell us to celebrate:
GOD’S ACTS. Psalm 21:13 Rise up, O Lord, in all your power. With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts.
GOD’S FAME.. Psalm 102:21 And so the Lord’s fame will be celebrated in Zion…
GOD’S NAME. Psalm 135:3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; celebrate his lovely name with music.
