Come Now Is The Time To Worship

HoHum:

A little boy asked his father what was the highest number he had ever counted. Replying that he didn't know, the father asked his son his highest number. It was 973.

"Why did you stop there?" wondered the father.

"Because church was over."

It is a shame that we can make a worship service a boring exercise

WBTU:

Originally I was studying on Psalm 95, a psalm that is about a week away in our Bible reading plan, but I was drawn to Psalm 137 about not losing our song. Tonight we look at Psalm 95

Psalm 95 is a call to worship. Gathering for worship is not a new thing.

It has been done by the Christians for 2000 years. It has been done by the Jewish people many centuries longer than that! The Psalmist was inviting his fellow Jews to true worship. The Psalmist is inviting us to true worship.

If we are going to worship together, we should do it in a way that pleases God. So, the Psalmist invites us to come!

Thesis: We are to come to worship in 5 ways- Psalm 95

For instances:

COME JOYFULLY – Vs. 1

Vs. 1 – The Jewish religion was a joyful religion. Christianity is a joyful religion.

Yes, there are times of sorrow. Yes, there are times for repentance. Yes, there are times to grieve.

Overall, Christianity is a faith of joy.

It is a joy to know the God of the universe personally.

It is a joy to come before God in the name of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a joy that God encourages us to come to Him. He’s not standoffish.

It is a joy that our sins are forgiven.

It is a joy that we have eternal life.

It is a joy that He will never leave or forsake us.

We are told to come with singing. We are told to come with shouting, a joyful noise.

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,” Ephesians 5:19, NIV.

Our outward worship should be an expression of what is going on in our hearts!

Worship is a privilege. We should be joyful in that privilege.

Notice who we are worshipping! We are worshipping the LORD – the great “I AM”

We are worshipping the “rock of our salvation”.

A rock cannot be moved. Our salvation as Christians is “rock solid”! When Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church,” the rock that He was referring to was Himself. As Dottie Rambo said: I go to the Rock for my salvation; I go to the stone that the builders rejected; I run to the mountain and the mountain stands by me; When the earth all around me is sinking sand; On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand; When I need a shelter, when I need a friend, I go to the Rock

COME THANKFULLY – Vs. 2

Vs. 2 – There are people I only hear from if they want something. Do we know people like that?

When does God hear from us? And when God does hear from us, do we come with a thankful heart for all that he’s already done?

Do we begin your approach to the “throne of grace” with a thankful heart? “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6, NIV.

Why is thanksgiving important?

Remember that God has supplied in the past.

Submit to God’s will in the present

Trust in God for the future

COME KNOWLEDGEABLY – Vss. 3-5

The better we know about God, and the better we know God, the more joyful and thankful we will be when we come into his presence.

Vs. 3 - There are so many ways that God is a great God, But I think that two of the greatest things about our God are His holiness and His omnipotence.

God is great because He is holy. He is totally set apart from all that is evil, wrong, and wicked in this world. This puts God in a league of His own. God is holy, and therefore worthy of our worship. “Let them praise your great and awesome name--he is holy.” “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.” Psalms 99:3, 5, NIV.

God is almighty, omnipotent. “O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.” Psalms 89:8, NIV.

Vs. 4 – God is in control of the deepest places in the earth, some of which man has never been to.

God is also in control of the highest mountain peaks.

Vs. 5 – God made the sea and everything in it. God made the dry land and everything in it. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalms 19:1, NIV.