Introduction: One sunny Sunday morning, much like today, Henry Jones woke up with his wife standing over him, shaking him, and saying, “You have to get up, we have to get ready for church.”
Henry responded by saying, “I don’t want to go to church today, “I want to stay in bed.” His wife crossed her arms, gave him one of those looks and in a strong voice said, “Give me three good reasons why you should stay in bed and not go to church.”
“Ok” he answered, “First, I don’t get anything out of the service. Second, I don’t like the people. And third, no one at church likes me. He then challenged his wife to give him three good reasons why he should go to church?”
She responded by saying, “First of all, it will do you some good. Second, there are people at church who really do like you, and they will miss you if you aren’t there. And third, you’re the preacher.
Unfortunately there are a lot of people today who would agree with this pastor. Apathy and indifference have invaded many of our churches, and are effecting our worship services. Many people come to church week after week, even though they never really expect to get anything out of the worship service.
Illustration: Someone once asked Angel Fernando, who pastors a church in Northern California if the people who attend his church ever come expecting anything. He responded by saying, “Yes, they come expecting to be out by twelve oclock.”
It’s a sad commentary of our day, when we are more concerned about what time the service is going to be over than we are about worshipping the Lord.
There are a few things I think we need to learn this morning about worship.
I. Where you worship is not nearly as important as the fact that you take the time to worship.
This Samaritan woman tried to argue with Jesus about whether or not it was better to worship God in the temple in Jerusalem or there in Samaria. Jesus refused to argue with her, He simply responded by saying that a day was coming, and was in fact here, that it would not matter where you worshipped God. Instead he emphasized how we should worship God, and we will come back to that in a few minutes.
It doesn’t matter if you worship at Sulphur Spring Baptist church, or Calvary Baptist Church, or First United Methodist Church, what really matter is that you take the time to worship the Lord. Hershall Hobbs once said, “If we do not worship God somewhere we will soon not worship him anywhere.”
Phoebe Brown was a lady who knew how important worship is, and how beneficial it can be. Phoebe was a farmer’s wife and she and her husband had several children. So, naturally her days were full of hard work. By the end of the day her body was tired, her nerves were on edge, and her spirit was low. But each day about sunset Phoebe would walk down the road to a favorite, quiet spot among the trees. There she would sit for an while quietly meditating, praying and worshipping the Lord. Later when she returned to the house and her family, she had been refreshed and strengthened by the Lord, and was ready to get back to her responsibilities as a mother and wife.
That’s something that we need to remember. We can’t really say we have worshiped God unless it is followed by service? It is a mockery to praise the Lord inside the church, unless we tell others about him outside of the church.
Illustration: One Sunday morning, Satan happened to be standing outside of a large Baptist Church. Inside, the people were singing, praying, and listening to a sermon. Someone passed by on the sidewalk and noticed Satan standing on the steps of the church. The passerby asked Satan if it bothered him to hear the people worshipping the Lord. With a demonic laugh, he said, “no it doesn’t bother me in the least. They get that way on Sunday, but they’ll be all right come Monday morning. It’s just a little habit they have acquired.” Unfortunately that’s true of a lot of people. Worship is supposed to make a difference in who we are and what we do.
Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth Graham, says, worship is not a one-day-a-week event. It is a lifestyle. It is an attitude that says, "Here am I, Lord, send me!" That was Issiah’s response after He had seen the Lord “High and lifted up.” He had worshiped the Lord, now He was ready to serve the Lord.
Someone has said, “When God’s people truly worship, the impact of their lives in the workplace and communities where they live is powerful.”
Illustration: “If worship does not change us, it has not been worship.” Richard Foster.
I know that you don’t have to be in a church to worship the Lord, but there’s something special about being with other believers, who have come together to worship and praise the Lord.
I can’t help but remember Mr. Zenas Hill, who was here almost every Sunday morning, even though He couldn’t hear a word that was said. He came because He wanted to worship the Lord with other believers. Praise God for the example that He has set for us.
II. The next thing I want you to remember this morning about worship, is this: When we worship is not nearly as important as How we worship.
Jesus told the woman at the well, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.”
You know calling something worship does not necessarily make it worship. If you read my newsletter article this week, you read a quote from Henry Blackaby about worship, which says, “There must be a return to focused, specific, intentional worship by God’s people. If they do not worship, they will die spiritually. Much of the sin and brokenness in the churches could be resolved in short order if God’s people stood before a holy God and genuinely worshipped Him in “Spirit & Truth.”
John Huffman describes one unforgettable moment with his daughter. He had been away from home for several weeks on an overseas mission trip. When his airplane landed, he could hardly wait to see his wife and four children, but he was detained in customs. Finally after two hours, the customs officials allowed Huffman, and the other passengers to proceed to the lobby, where hundreds of people were anxiously awaiting for family and friends. Huffman writes:
There was such a press of bodies, I knew I would not be able to pick my children out until I walked up the ramp, past security, and got out into the open. But my three-year-old daughter, who managed to squeeze her way to the front of the crowd, began screcaming at the top of her lungs, ‘daddy! Daddy! That’s my Daddy! She must have shouted that at least 5 times, when suddenly she broke free from the crowd, and bolted past the security guards, still yelling Daddy, Daddy, That’s my Daddy!” She literally flew into my arms and began kissing and hugging me. What a welcome! I have never felt so loved and acknowledged in my life. It was a wonderful, fulfilling moment that even today brings a warm and happy feeling.”
“That,” Huffman says, “is what God feels like when we acknowledge our love for him in worship.”
III. Which leads me to the next point I want to make. Which is The way we worship God is not nearly as important as why we worship God.
One of the big debates going around about worship today is about the different styles of worship. Many churches are adding a second worship service that they refer to as a “Contemporary Worship Service.” The main difference between a contemporary worship service and a traditional worship service is in the style of music. Most contemporary worship services utilize praise choruses, instead of traditional hymns. In addition many churches use what they call praise bands during their contemporary services, which include drums, guitars, and electric keyboards, instead of a piano and organ. But in my opinion it’s not the style of worship that is important, it’s why we are worshipping that is important.
William Wilson directs the Chapel services at Duke University. Since students at Duke are not required to attend the chapel services, he was intrigued that one particular student always seemed to be there. So one Sunday after the worship service Willimon approached the young man and said, “How do you like chapel? The student politely said, “I like it.” The chaplain then asked, “Well what do you think about the preaching?” “Well I like that too,” said the young man. Determined to get more out of him, the chaplain said, “Well, what exactly do you like about it?” The Young man looked at the chaplain and said, “Look, Dr. Willimon, I’m going to be honest with you. I come to chapel to meet women.” At least he was honest. But when your only motivation for coming to a worship service is to meet a member of the opposite sex, you are coming for the wrong reason.
Henry Ward Beecher knew he was going to be absent from the pulpit of Plymouth Church one Sunday, so he asked his brother to preach for him. When the worship service began, and it became apparent that the great preacher would not be speaking that particular morning, some people got up and started to leave. At that point, Beecher’s brother stepped into pulpit and said, "All of those who came to hear Henry Ward Beecher preach this morning should take this opportunity to leave; all of those who came to worship God may remain." After that no one else left the sanctuary.
When we come to church, it should be for no other reason that to express our love to the Lord through our worship.
In his book, The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren says, “The church exists to worship God…When we express our love to God, we’re worshiping. He also says, “Worship is expressing our love to God for who He is, what He’s said, and what He is doing.”
We shouldn’t worship out of duty; we should worship because we want to. We should enjoy expressing our love to God.”
Worshiping God is the church’s first purpose. Sometimes we get so busy working for God, we don’t have time (or make the time) to express our love for him through worship.”
Before I close this morning I want to make sure you are aware of the elements that every worship service should include.
1. The Reading of God’s Word.
2. Prayer.
3. A period of Praise & Thanksgiving
4. Preaching & Teaching of God’s Word
5. Finally there should be an opportunity for someone to confess and repent of their sin.
Jersey Village Baptist Church in Houston, Texas was reminded of this on February 26, 1995. The congregation began their evening service at 6:30 p.m. expecting a routine worship service. However, During the invitation, a young girl walked the aisle, confessed her sins to the Lord, and sought encouragement from the church. After her response to God, other members started coming forward and confessing their sins. Around 9:00 p.m., some of the members relieved a couple who had been working in the nursery so they could come experience what God was doing in their midst. That couple went directly to the altar and asked for prayer. Their son had ran away four months ago because he wanted the freedom to live his life the way he wanted, without having to answer to anyone. While the church was praying for him, he was at Mardi Gras in Galveston. But all of a sudden he felt God was telling him to go home. So, he made the ninety-minute drive from Galveston, to Houston, only to discover a dark house when he got home. He couldn’t believe his parents would still be at church, but he drove to the church anyway. A deacon recognized him at the back door and pointed him to his parents, who were still kneeling at the altar. He made his way to the front of the auditorium, tapped his parents on the shoulder, embraced them, and told them of his desire to come home and recommit his life to Christ.
But it all started with one girl who repented of her sins. If she hadn’t done that the worship service may have just lasted the usual hour, rather than going until 11:00 p.m., and one family might still be separated from each other and from the Lord.”
What about you this morning? Did you come to church this morning to worship the Lord or did you come for some other reason? Have you expressed your Love for the Lord today during this worship service, or have you just went through the motions? Do you have some sin in your life that is separating you from God, if so, then you need to confess that sin to him right now, and get your relationship with Him back where it ought to be.
