INTRODUCTION
SLIDE #1
I get up each Sunday morning, I miss out on a mornings sleep, I miss out on going to the golf course, I miss out on being able to go fishing. I get up and go to church.
Am I being cheated, am I missing out on something by coming to church each week?
Last week we started the first of two messages on the subject of worship. Last week we learned that we come together each Sunday to worship God. Worship begins and ends with God.
I stated that many people are not excited about worship or they leave feeling empty.
Why? Because in order to be able to properly worship, we need to bring something to worship, we need to bring an offering to God, that offering is our lives.
If we bring our lives to God as a living and holy sacrifice each week, we will be able to have a true worship experience.
God-Centered worship begins and ends with God. If we are going to really worship God, our worship should be an extension of the life we are living for Jesus Monday through Saturday.
With all that being said, when we come to WORSHIP GOD, we also can expect to receive something in return.
Today we are going to look at four legitimate expectations we can receive from God-Centered Worship.
When we truly experience God during our worship time together, we can expect to receive something from God that will be a real blessing to each one who receives it.
Let’s turn of Isaiah 6:1-8.
In the sixth chapter of Isaiah, we have the call of Isaiah to his prophetic ministry by God.
During the call from God, Isaiah was privileged to have a true encounter with God, an encounter that would change him forever. Isaiah had the opportunity to have a true worship experience!
When we come to worship God, one of the things we can expect in return is…
SLIDE #2
SERMON
I. A SENSE OF GOD’S PRESENCE. (ISAIAH 6:1-4)
• Isaiah 6:1 - 4 (NASB) 1In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
SLIDE #3
“When we gather for worship, we should expect to sense the awesome presence of God.” Bob Russell, “When God Builds A Church” p.48
One of the goals of worship is to connect people with God. When we pray, sing, give, take communion, and hear His word proclaimed, we want to have people experience the presence of God.
Whenever a person had encounters with God, they were never the same. Moses had his mountaintop experience. Abraham had en encounter with God.
In Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah relays to us his experience with the presence of God.
Isaiah had an encounter with God and he knew he was in the presence of the Almighty!
If you are going to sing a song and you knew the President was going to be in the audience, you would most likely put a lot of practice into what you are doing.
If you are an athlete and you know the scouts are coming to watch you, you will put a little bit more into your effort to make a good showing for them.
Bob Russell states: Worship should be neither sheer boredom nor surface entertainment. It should convey a deep respect for the holiness, the majesty, the joy, the power of the Almighty God in our midst.
SLIDE #4
MATTHEW 18:20 states: "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
When we come to worship, when we come bringing our lives as a living, holy sacrifice before God, we should leave knowing we were in the presence of God.
We do not sing to each other, we sing to God who is here with us today. We do not pray to each other, we pray to the Almighty God who is here with us today.
Isaiah had a keen sense of God’s presence when he received his calling in the prophetic ministry.
When we come to worship God, one of the things we can expect in return is…
SLIDE #5
II. A CONVICTION OF OUR OWN SINFULNESS. (ISAIAH 6:5)
SLIDE #6
If worship brings us close to God, this closeness to God should cause us to see ourselves as we really are.
When Isaiah was in the presence of God, look at what he says about himself in verse 5.
Isaiah 6:5 (NASB) 5Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
When we are in the presence of God during our worship, it should invoke within ourselves as awareness of how we really are.
We have a tendency to compare ourselves to other people. We tend to think we are better than we are.
A man can look in the mirror and see that 18 year body he USED to have. I can look in the mirror and think, “I carry my weight just fine.” Then I get photographs. For some reason they tell the story for me.
I can look at other people and think I am doing pretty well. As a coach, when a parent wants their child to play in the spot where a better player is playing, they will watch the player who is in their kids spot.
When that girl makes a mistake, they will say, “My daughter could have made that error.” You do not hear them talk out of them when the great plays are made.
When we are in the presence of God, we are forced into being convicted about our own sinfulness. I might think I am a good basketball player until Shaq comes over to play.
It is easy to get lulled into a sense of “I’m good enough” because I am not as bad as Joe over there.
When we stand before God, we are then comparing our goodness to that of our perfect, Holy Creator. No matter how good we think we are, we fall far short when compared to Jesus.
We do not know what kind of person Isaiah was before his encounter with God. He was probably a pretty good person. When standing before perfect holiness, he knew he was not what he thought he was.
When you are in the presence of God, you cannot help but see where you really are and why you really need Him.
I wonder if many people resist true worship because they do not want to be confronted with the reality of their condition.
How many of us really want to be convicted about our OWN sinfulness? It is more fun to be convicted of the sins of others, it is more comforting to know I am better than so and so.
When we encounter God through worship, we receive a true picture of our own sinfulness.
When people would come to Jesus, they were so moved to be convicted of their own sinfulness.
In Luke 5:1-9, Peter was confronted by the fact he was in the presence of God while fishing with Jesus. After fishing all night long with no luck, Jesus told them where to fish and the catch was huge.
Luke 5:1 - 9 (NASB) 8But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;
What lead Peter to confess his sinfulness? The realization that he was standing in the presence of God!
Isaiah said HE was a man of unclean lips. The people around him were in the same state as he. Now he has seen the king and it is time to make a change.
When we come to worship God, one of the things we can expect in return is…
SLIDE #7
III. A JOYFUL REMINDER OF GOD’S GRACE. (ISAIAH 6:6-7)
SLIDE #8
The goal of worship is not to leave us feeling terrible about what we have done. It is to help remind us of God’s grace, love, and forgiveness.
It is would be easy for us to leave church each week feeling terrible about how bad we are when compared to God. It would be easy just to quit and give up thinking we could never be what God wants us to be.
When we gather together for worship, we should also receive a cleansing of sin and a release from guilt.
Look at Isaiah 6:6-7 with me.
Isaiah 6:6 - 7 (NASB) 6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”
Our sin should remind us of God’s wonderful grace! Once a person is convicted of sin, we cannot leave it there; we must remind people of God’s grace.
When we look at ourselves before we were saved, we need not feel terrible, we need to be reminded of God’s grace in our lives.
Romans 6 tells us that when we are immersed into Christ that we are buried with Christ in baptism, the old self is dead and gone. Praise God for His grace!
SLIDE #9
ROMANS 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
When we realize how sinful we are, we do not have to feel like we are finished! God’s grace shines though our weakness. If you cannot forgive yourself, or if you think God cannot forgive you, you are saying that sin is bigger than God.
If you belong to Jesus, there is no CONDEMNATION!
SLIDE #10
1 JOHN 1:7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
When we experience the presence of God in worship, we should leave rejoicing. Even though we are reminded of our sinful state, we have been reminded of God’s grace. Jesus paid the price for our sins and then conquered the grave! (Russell p. 50)
SLIDE #11
IV. THE INSPIRATION TO SERVE. (ISAIAH 6:8)
SLIDE #12
True worship will inspire us to want to serve our awesome God to the best of our ability because of who He is!
When we experience the presence of God, when we realize our sinfulness, and are then reminded of God’s grace, the grace that allows us to be saved from our sinfulness, we cannot help but to want to serve Him.
I cannot imaging NOT wanting to serve our God in some way.
Look at verse 6:8 with me.
Isaiah 6:8 (NASB) 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Here is Isaiah. He has been in the presence of God. He has been convicted of his sinfulness. He has been cleansed from his sins. Now God has a job that needs to be done.
God does not say anything about what it is, where it is going to be, what it will cost, what it will entail. He just says, “whom shall I send?”
I can picture Isaiah jumping up and down. HERE I AM SEND ME!
God did not have to beg. He did not have to run an announcement in the bulletin for several weeks. He did not have to use guilt or threaten. Isaiah was grateful for what God have done for him and he wanted to pay God back by serving Him!
James says faith without works is dead. What would it have said about Isaiah if he would have said, “Well I hope you find someone.”
In our church we have all the money and personal we need to do what we need to do. The question is, are we motivated to serve?
We have a list of ministry teams to give people an opportunity to serve. We are not asking for you to sign up for EVERYTHING in the list. We are not asking for a lifetime commitment for the areas you choose.
After these ministry teams are set, each of these ministry teams will need people to help them carry out their areas of ministry.
I hope we get a lot people who are ready to serve or to continue to serve.
If you have met Jesus, you will be motivated to serve Him is some way.
When we leave church complaining about worship all the time, most likely the problem is not with the worship, it is with the worshipper.
CONCLUSION
Each week, (each day) we should leave this place a different person. Whenever we are in the presence of God, we should NEVER be the same.
I do want to say one thing about worship in general that I really did not touch on.
I pray that in our church people feel free express themselves to God during our worship.
Folding your hands across the chest looking at the watch is not the only way to express your love for God.
I hope that a person can feel free to raise their hands to God during our song service. I also hope if a person does not feel like expressing themselves that way, they will not be forced into doing it.
I also hope those who want to raise hands will not look down at those who do not feel comfortable doing that.
I people can feel free to shout out “amen” of they want to.
Different people express themselves in different ways. As long as we are not being disruptive, we should feel free to express ourselves.
Come to worship ready and expecting to be in the presence of God. When you come to worship, bring your sacrifice with you, the life that you have given to Jesus.
Come and enjoy the fullness of God in your life with other Christians.
