Do you like to worship the Lord? For those who can carry a tune the answer is probably a solid yes. For those who can’t you know that you are supposed to anyhow. I have heard it said that worship is acknowledging God for who He is and praise is acknowledging Him for what He has done. For many worship takes place that first thirty minutes of church. But is biblical worship more than that? When we talk about worship what is it that we mean?
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, p. 119.
True biblical worship so satisfies our total personality that we don’t have to shop around for man-made substitutes. William Temple made this clear in his masterful definition of worship:
For worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose -- and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.
True biblical worship is exemplified in our three core values we have set for this church.
1) Loving God
2) Trusting God
3) Loving People
As we look at the scriptures today I want you to see that worship is more than singing songs. It is a lifestyle. I pray that as you listen today your lifestyle would become a life of worship.
I. TRUE BIBLICAL WORSHIP MEANS TRUSTING GOD FOR ALL THINGS. (16-21) Today we see the story of Paul and Silas in Philippi. They weren’t there by themselves – Luke and Timothy and probably others where with them. This was a missionary group that worshiped God by trusting Him. 1) They trusted God’s direction when He called them to Macedonia. (Vs 9) 2) They trusted God when they went to the river to preach to a group of women.(vs 13) 3) Now they are trusting God as they continue their ministry in a pagan city full of demonic activity. 16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. Here is a slave girl that is possessed by a spirit – the original Greek says that it is a spirit of ventriloquism (it wasn’t really the girl speaking but a demon speaking through her). This demon was called python. The python was a mythical serpent killed by Apollo, who took both the serpent’s gift of predictions and sometimes its form. Apollo became known as Pythian Apollo. When it was said that one had a “spirit of Python,” it meant that the person was controlled by an evil force. Apparently those who knew the girl did not regard her as insane or fraudulent. Rather they viewed her ability to foretell events as genuine. People paid the girl for her divination services, earning her masters a lot of money. Her owners were more concerned with money than with a human life. But that didn’t keep them from doing what they were called there to do. 17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” I don’t know why Bible translators do this but the word translated “shouting” literally means to “croak” (as a raven) or scream, that is, (generally) to call aloud (shriek…) Do you get the picture of ventriloquism here. The demon was speaking though her. It wasn’t even her voice, it was his. Look at the ways that Paul was trusting God in this situation. First, he didn’t react until the right time. 18She kept this up for many days. Second, He waited for the gift of discernment… Finally Paul became so troubled… Third, he trusted God and acted in His authority… “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. Paul worship God by what he did and not only by what he said. John 4, “34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” When we sing the song “Here I am to Worship” how do you respond? 1) I can’t worship to that kind of music… 2) It makes me feel good inside… 3) I love to sing songs and worship the Lord… Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you’re my God… So if we worship God with our mouths and not with our actions is it really worship? Worship glorifies God in the face of opposition – and you will be opposed. 20They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” Accusation 1. These men are Jews… trying to bring condemnation because of their beliefs. 2. are throwing our city into and uproar… How long has it been since you’ve been accused of that? 3. they are advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept of practice… The spirit of this world at work. Christianity is for narrow minded bigots. Worshiping God by trusting in Him alone will cost you something.
II. TRUE BIBLICAL WORSHIP MEANS LOVING GOD IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. (22-28) 22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. Have you ever noticed the feeding frenzy that takes place when a prominent Christian leader falls? …The crowd joined in the attack… How would you respond? Let me ask you a question. Is there anything in your life that you would be willing to die for? Most of you would say yes. Your family, Maybe a friend or two, and even your faith! Dying for a cause is a rather noble gesture. It is in living for something that the cost becomes even greater. Paul said to live is Christ to die is gain. So if we love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength, and we are willing to live for Him in our actions and not just words, we worship Him in the highest form of worship. Regardless of what comes. How did Paul and Silas respond to persecution? 25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. Real worship causes things to happen in your life as well as in others. Paul and Silas could have sat in the stocks and complained. I probably would have. But instead they began to sing and pray. I can only imagine what took place that night, but I picture something like this. As Paul and Silas worshiped and prayed the joy they had in their hearts for Jesus must have spilled over on to the other prisoners. So when the opportunity for freedom came instead of running they stayed with the missionaries. Where would they go? They could run away from prison and have to keep running to keep their freedom, or they could run to Jesus and be free indeed. True biblical worship will break the chains that bind others. It would have been easy for Paul and Silas to ask, “What are we doing down here with the scum of the earth?” Instead they prayed and worshiped. Thanks for another mission field, Lord! 2 Corinthians 11, I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Just a few verses later the Lord spoke to him and said, “My grace is sufficient for you…” And that is enough to get us to where God wants us in worship – to love Him in all circumstances.
III. TRUE BIBLICAL WORSHIP IS LOVING PEOPLE OF ALL KINDS. (28-34) OK. The chains have fallen off. The stocks are loose. Everybody is free to go. I think the other prisoners were looking to see what Paul and Silas were going to do. Maybe no one ran because of the darkness. I don’t thinks so for when the doors flew open they would have seen light and instinctively run toward it. 27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. He must have been sleeping pretty soundly don’t you think? Again for us to see worship in action we look to Paul and Silas’ response. 28But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” Sometimes I stop and think - don’t laugh, I do stop and think occasionally – but I think about the things we do as Christians because we feel obligated to do them, so we do them from a point of mental obedience and not spiritual obedience. Do you understand the difference? Tithing because you are commanded to is no good unless you want to. Witnessing because you have to will come across to others as just that. In our minds we say we love people but do we really? We say all the time, “love the sinner and hate the sin.” But it is so difficult to separate the sinner from his sin that it becomes virtually impossible to do that. So we are called to love unconditionally. Paul could have thought in his mind, “This guy didn’t care about me at all. Why should I care?” But he did care because he lived his life for Jesus. The result? 29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.
Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 242.
Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, "Look, I’m going to leave. And while I’m gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I’m away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip." Everyone agrees.
He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers everything is in a mess--weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud music roaring from several offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a great loss. Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, "What happened? Didn’t you get my letters?"
You say, "Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We’ve even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have ’letter study’ every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters." I think the president would then ask, "But what did you do about my instructions?" And, no doubt the employees would respond, "Do? Well, nothing. But we read every one!"
Jesus said the day is coming and is now here when people must worship God in spirit and in truth.
God’s word is truth, so worship should involve loving people according to God’s word.
How is your worship?
The real questions I’m asking are,
1) How is your love for God? Can He see your worship in it?
2) How much do trust God?
3) Are you loving People the way He did/
Or are you just reading the letters and not doing anything about it?
Exodus 34:14 14Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
