Preparing To Worship God

Preparing to Worship God-Pastor Tim Jones

Exodus 19

1. Everything takes preparation! ?Those that Fail to plan-Plan to Fail?

a. When your kids go to school-you don?t just go off to college-

b. Weddings-You don?t just get married????

c. Moving into a new home?..

d. It all takes Preparation

Joke: A new young bride calls her mother in tears. She sobs, ’Robert doesn’t appreciate what I do for him.’

’Now, now,’ her mother comforted, ’I am sure it was all just a misunderstanding.’

’No, mother,’ the young woman laments. ’I bought a frozen turkey loaf and he yelled at me about the price.’

’Well, that is being miserly,’ the mother agreed, ’Those turkey rolls are only a few dollars.’

’No, mother it wasn’t the price of the turkey roll, it was the airplane ticket.’

’Airplane ticket.... What did you need an airplane ticket for?’

’Well mother, when I went to fix it, I looked at the directions on the back and it said, ’PREPARE FROM A FROZEN STATE,’ so I flew to Alaska.’

2. So?.it should not surprise us that as God prepares to form this RAG TAG group of people into a nation?

a. He even gives them their own law of the land?BUT

b. He calls for them to PREPARE Themselves

3. After Exodus 19, The 10 Commandments were given as Isreal is camped on Mt. Sinai.

a. Usually when we read these, we think that they all were camped out-Moses went up to meet with God and came back down

b. However, there were many trips up and down that mountain?

c. There were many preparations to be made

4. Notice what the Israelites were asked to do-It will give us clues for how we should PREPARE to meet with God

a. When we PRAY and When we WORSHIP

I. BE SPIRITUALLY PREPARED (V.3-6)

1. The First step in preparing to MEET God in Worship is to recognize that God is the AWESOME being that He is.

a. KIDS in school demand respect from Younger kids

b. STUDENTS should respect their Teachers

c. Kids should Respect their parents/Players should respect their coach

d. We should Respect GOD!

· He made us/protects us/draws us to Himself!

**In the text, there are many spectacular sights and sounds

e. Clouds, lightnings, thunder, trumpets and trembling mountains

f. These are all mentioned to IMPRESS upon us the power and glory of God

g. Before the Israelites can approach God, they need to have an appropriate sense of awe and reverence and gratitude

h. We DO NOT meet God as Equals

(Hebrews 12:28)Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

AW Tozer writes, "No one can know the true grace of God who has not first known the fear of God." It seems to me that we have lost some of that reverential fear. Sometimes we are overly and inappropriately familiar with the Almighty. Sometimes we relate to God as the great Gift-giver in the sky. And when we do this, we diminish who He is. Before we meet with God we must remind ourselves that we are about to meet with GOD.

· He is Holy-we are sinners in need of GRACE and MERCY

· He is ALL Powerful and We are WEAK

· He is ALL WISE-we can only see the PRESENT

· He is the CREATOR-We are the Created

· He is the standard that we Define and Measure our lives

2. To prepare ourselves spiritually, we must make sure we have a right relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ!

a. He sent His son to die in our place-He covers our sinfulness

b. We don?t need to be afraid of God?s wrath anymore!

c. BUT: We must respond to God?s offer of Grace

d. We must Come to Christ on HIS Terms!

3. As Believers, we must remember: Every time we come before Him, we are there by His invitation

a. When we forget that: Worship becomes meaningless, empty and even disrespectful-superficial emotionalism

b. It is not something to be proud of to be in a Worship Service and not personally MEET God

c. Are you Prepared on Sunday?s to WORSHIP?

II. BE MENTALLY PREPARED (19:7-8)

1. God was not willing to speak unless Israel was ready Mentally

a. How can God speak unless we are ready to listen?

JOKE: the teacher saw that little Johnny wasn’t paying attention in class. She called on him and said, "Johnny! What are 2 and 4 and 28 and 44?" Little Johnny quickly replied, "MTv, Star Moves, Channel-V and the Cartoon Network!"

b. We all need to REALIZE: God has a right to command His people

2. The concepts of Law and Grace must be kept in proper balance in the Christian Life