Personal Worship Series

Text: Psalm 5:1-12, Title: Personal Worship, Date/Place: NRBC, 12/14/08, AM

A. Opening illustration: Tell about Lew’s comments about Jesus only making disciples of those who want to be discipled, A man walked up to a vending machine, put in a coin, pressed the buttons labeled, “coffee, double cream, sugar.” No cup appeared, but the nozzles went into action sending forth coffee, cream and sugar. After the proper amounts had gone down the drain, the machine turned off. “Now that’s real automation,” said the man. “This thing even drinks it for you.” That is just how some people want their faith. They want to make a deposit, put in some money and let the rest be taken care of automatically. tell a personal story of meeting with God in private worship—riding down the road and hearing, “Jesus led me all the waaaayyyy.”

B. Background to passage: Again this is a psalm of David, but we are not given a context. But David here pens a prayer that is going to God while others around him assail him and ignore God. David is home, it is early in the morning, and is later going the temple, but he is spending time with God. He is having a private time of worship. We tend to relegate worship to a couple of hours on a Sunday, but this is not so. We should have times of personal worship between us and God; and David tells us how and gives an example.

C. Main thought: David gives us two principles, then makes three requests as an example

A. Worship is daily, early, and intentional (v. 1-3)

1. After a two-verse plea for God to hear his prayer, David tells the Lord that He will hear David’s voice in the mornings. And later we see that he is going to the temple for worship, and so there are some implications that we can draw from this truth. Times of worship are a daily practice, for everything you do is worship. Early in the morning is the best time for worship for several reasons: your mind is freshest in the morning, it is the quietest part of the day, it is biblical, it is logical, it is Christ-like, and it demonstrates loyalty, dependence, and love of God Himself over other things. Lastly, David is very serious and intentional about his prayer

2. Romans 12:1-2, Ps 63:1-2, Pro 8:17, Isa 26:9, Mark 1:35,

3. Illustration: Dear God, So far today, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy or grumpy, selfish, or over indulgent..... but, in a few minutes, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot more help.... Athletic teams never gather after the event to prepare for it, Keep working at your daily devotional plan for 21 days. By then it should become a habit

4. We must retrain our minds to think about each day, each action, each thought as being a worship event before God. We don’t worship three times a week, we worship every moment of our day. This is the reason that we exist. From drinking your morning coffee with thankfulness, to shouting out a song in the car by yourself, to filling out paperwork with excellence and integrity, to dealing with difficult people with grace, all can be done with Christ in our minds and the goal of bringing glory to him. But starting off the day with Him is crucial to being used of God to magnify His value and worth. So if you don’t have a daily time with God early, commit to it now. Get a plan, a place, a time, get up 15 minutes earlier than usual, pic a bible book, or devotional book, a notepad, and ask God to give you a desire, meet you there, and help you do it. And be flexible, Rome was not built in a day. Get someone to help you. Set reminders up all around. Shave, shower, get dressed first, to avoid sleepiness.

B. Worship is based on character and relationship (v. 3-6)

1. Another principle that David gives us is that worship is not based on a church or particular ritual, but upon the relationship that David has with God. Notice that he calls Him “my God and my King.” It is also based on the character of God, who He really is. David goes on to list several traits of God. Most of these describe His holiness and inability to tolerate evil of those who profligate it. Evil doesn’t even stop by for a visit. The character of God is also the basis of our worship. All His perfections and excellencies are worthy of worship, especially holiness. It is the reason for our greatest problem and also for our greatest solution.