Sermon Central
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Character Trait 10: A Healthy Church Is A Worshipping Church Series
Contributed by Billy Ricks on Mar 30, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: Worship is announcing and affirming God’s worth. Why is Jesus worthy of bowing our lives before Jesus in worhsip? He is God and He alone died for our sins, defeated death, hell and the grave and invites us to worship Him alone!
Intro: Have you heard about the recent experience of a pastor who changed the order of worship so that the sermon was given before the offering was taken. This upset a four year old who asked her mother, "Why is he talking before he gets paid?" (The child had a misunderstanding of worship)
Worship is announcing and affirming God’s worth. The idea of worship comes from an Old Testament word that literally means to bow down before someone worthy of respect. It carries the idea of submitting to someone worthy of respect. Jesus Christ is worthy of us bowing our life down before Him in respect.
Jesus tells us in John 4:21 “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.”
Jesus tells us in John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”
He makes it clear that there will be an inward worship that will lead to an outward lifestyle. Jesus told us the great commandment is to love God with everything and love our neighbor as our selves. We are also told in Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The glory of God has to do with His worth. We all fall short of living according to God’s worth.
The cross was where Jesus died for the sin of the world so that we could live according to the glory of God. The resurrection makes the Holy Spirit power available power to live out the truth of God. Today we are celebrating in our music, message, and observance of the Lord’s Supper Jesus great worth as Savior, Lord, God.
It is with our lifestyle that we affirm God’s truth so that we can announce with our lips His worth and truth. Remember worship is bowing before someone worthy of respect. Why is Jesus so worthy?
I. We worship God by bringing every thought captive to Jesus
God’s truth transforms our thoughts. Paul challenges us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to take every thought captive to Jesus.
Why does Jesus want to change the way we think? If Jesus can change our stinking thinking he can change our stinking living.
II. We worship God by bending our will to the leadership of the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 5:18 “Do not be drunk on wine but be filled with the Spirit.” Drunk is a word that can mean filled with. Whatever we are filled with we are controlled by.
What are two things that we need if we will be filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit? We need emptiness and openness. You must realize you need Him, Lord I can’t live this Christian life unless you are in control. You must be willing to do as the Holy Spirit directs. Wherever you lead I’ll go, whatever you ask I’ll do, whatever it takes I’ll give. Here is the secret of worship in Spirit! Unless we recognize our need and release our willingness we cannot worship the Lord!
The question to ask ourselves is if God removed the Holy Spirit from our lives this next week would we even notice?
III. We worship God by bowing our body to the ministry of the Father
Willing heart, hands, and feet, are the supernatural work of the Spirit. Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men in such a way that they see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” This is a call from Jesus for the inward work of God’s Holy Spirit to become the outward working of God’s holy people.
