“Learning to Worship God”
June 10, 2007
For most of the past year we have been studying and learning about why we are here. It took us quite a while and a lot of work – but we discovered our purpose. After much thought and prayer and brainstorming we came up with our purpose statement. It is: “The purpose of the Mount Shasta Abundant life Church of the Nazarene is to bring Christ to the community.”
It seems so easy and simple now – but it took a lot of work to make it easy and simple. Most of you know that “Christ” in our purpose statement is an acrostic. The “C” stands for “Church Purpose. The “H” stands for “Help others come to Christ. “R” stands for “Rejoice in worship”. The “I” stands for Inspire and encourage in fellowship. “S” stands for “Serve and equip”. “T” stands for “Teach Christlikeness”. That is our purpose.
I have to tell you, the more I talk about our purpose; the more I think about it; the more I pray to accomplish it; the more we do it, the more I like it. I think it may be the most significant thing we have done as a church. It is so important to know why we are here and what we want to accomplish.
This morning I want to highlight the second part of our purpose – which is to “Rejoice in Worship”. We need to know how to worship God. A.W. Tozer said,
“Worship is the missing jewel of the church.” Someone once said, “We have become a generation of people who worship our work, work at our play and play at our worship.” Certainly the worship of Almighty God, Creator of the universe is worthy of more of an effort than that.
The Bible says,
“Sing to the Lord, O Earth, Declare each day that he is the one who saves! Show his glory to the nations! Tell everyone about his miracles. For the Lord is great and should be highly praised; He is to be held in awe above all gods. The other so-called gods are demons, But the Lord made the heavens. Majesty and honor march before him, Strength and gladness walk beside him. O people of all nations of the earth, Ascribe great strength and glory to his name! Yes, ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name! Bring an offering and come before him; Worship the Lord when clothed with holiness! Tremble before him, all the earth! The world stands unmoved. Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; Let all the nations say, ’It is the Lord who reigns.’ Let the vast seas roar, Let the countryside and everything in it rejoice! Let the trees in the woods sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love and his kindness go on forever.” 1 Chron 16:23-34 (Living)
"Fear God," he shouted, "and extol his greatness. For the time has come when he will sit as Judge. Worship him who made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all its sources." Rev 14:7 (Living)
“For the Lord had made a contract with them--that they were never to worship or make sacrifices to any heathen gods. They were to worship only the Lord who had brought them out of the land of Egypt with such tremendous miracles and power.” 2 Kings 17:35 (Living)
“And I saw another angel flying through the heavens, carrying the everlasting Good News to preach to those on earth--to every nation, tribe, language, and people. "Fear God," he shouted, "and extol his greatness. For the time has come when he will sit as Judge. Worship him who made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all its sources." Rev 14:6-7 (Living)
The Bible is clear that we are to worship God. One of our purposes on earth is to worship Him. But how do we do that? What does it mean to worship God? Someone defined it like this:
"Worship is honor and adoration directed to God. The New Testament uses several words for worship. Two of them particularly are noteworthy. The first is proskuneo, a commonly used term that literally means "to kiss toward," "to kiss the hand," or "to bow down." It is the word for worship used to signify humble adoration. The second word is latreuo, which suggests rendering honor, or paying homage.”
We may be emotionally uplifted by worship, and thank God for that. But that is a side benefit, and not the main purpose of worship. The main purpose of worship is to express love for God the Father; God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
How do we do that? Let’s look at some examples of worship.
“When Gideon heard the dream and the interpretation, all he could do was just stand there worshiping God!” Judges 7:15 (Living)
“All the people had been watching, and now they fell flat on the pavement and worshiped and thanked the Lord. "How good he is!" they exclaimed. "He is always so loving and kind." 2 Chron 7:3 (Living)
“Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people said, "Amen," and lifted their hands toward heaven; then they bowed and worshiped the Lord with their faces toward the ground.” Neh 8:6 (Living)
“the twenty-four Elders fell down before him and worshiped him, the Eternal Living One, and cast their crowns before the throne, singing, "O Lord, you are worthy to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for you have created all things. They were created and called into being by your act of will."
Rev 4:10-11 (Living)
“Oh, sing out your praises to the God who lives in Jerusalem. Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.” Psalms 9:11 (Living)
“Let all the joys of the godly well up in praise to the Lord, for it is right to praise him. Play joyous melodies of praise upon the lyre and on the harp. Compose new songs of praise to him, accompanied skillfully on the harp; sing joyfully.” Psalms 33:1-3 (Living)
What do you see in the bible when people worshipped God? Some stood. Some fell prostrate. Some sang songs. Some played musical instruments. Some lifted their hands in praise. Physically they expressed what was in their hearts – which was awe and love and honor and high esteem. Remember the Greek word for worship which means to kiss the hand or to kiss toward? I think true worship always has that essential element of love in it. You can have all the emotional and do all the outward signs of worship without really worshipping. The heart has to be right in order to truly worship God.
God has revealed a certain sequence or certain steps before worship, in His dealings with the children of Israel. First He delivered them from Egypt. In other words, He redeemed them or saved them. After bringing them out of Egypt, secondly, He gave them the law. Moses went up Mount Sinai and God carved His commands or instruction on stone. We call them the “ten commandments” – but they were God’s will for his people. After that, thirdly, God had His people build a tabernacle so they could then worship Him. That is the 3 step process in worship. First, salvation. Secondly, Obedience to God’s will. Then, Thirdly, worship. Prior to worship, we must be redeemed or have a restored relationship with God. Then we must have a commitment and desire to obey Him. Obedience is the expression of real love. Jesus said,
“The one who obeys me is the one who loves me” John 14:21 (Living)
God’s Word says, “Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives.” Psalms 96:9 (Living)
“…Bring an offering and come before him; Worship the Lord when clothed with holiness!”
1 Chron 16:29 (Living)
How are we to worship the Lord? Clothed in holiness. The true worshipper comes to worship with the beauty of a holy life.
How does that relate to us? I think, first of all, we need to know that God longs for us to truly worship Him. Worship is loving God. Worship is an intricate
part of a loving relationship with God. It is our way of “kissing” God. Jesus said,
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones all those God sends to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.” Matt 23:37 (Living)
Do you hear the longing in Jesus’ voice? Do you hear the love in His voice? I believe He says the same thing to us. I think His desire is the same for us. He longs to gather us in His arms and shelter us and love us and bless us. And when that happens –it is worship. Worship is not forced – like on earthly kingdoms, where the king demands bowing and scrapping and genuflecting and all that pomp and ceremony, with no love or loyalty. Worship is a beloved bride kissing her groom. And the Bible says of the church,
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Rev 21:2 (KJV)
You are the bride of Christ – if you are a Christian. And you need to know that Jesus desires you to love Him, and to express that love in true worship.
But there are conditions of worship. Have you been redeemed? Have you come out of the world? Have you come to a place in your life where you repented of your sins; where you turned away from your sin; where you stopped your rebellion and came to Jesus? The first thing we need to do is to leave Egypt. The first thing we need to do is leave the world and the things of the world in our hearts. We can’t truly worship God if we are still in the world. We can’t worship and rebel at the same time. The first thing God asked His beloved people to do is to leave the fruit of Egypt and follow Him – or to follow Moses, His representative, to bigger and better things.
The second thing that must happen before true worship takes place is to come to a place where we surrender to the will of God. The children of Israel were blessed with the Law of God. The ten commandments were given to those who wanted to know God’s will – so they could do them. They were not meant to be restrictive and confining and legalistic. They were given to His people so that those who loved Him would know how to express their love in obedience.
If you are not walking in obedience – you cannot worship God. You can’t kiss Jesus while driving a nail into His hand. So the Scripture tells us we are to come to worship in the beauty of holiness. How do we do that? By confessing and turning from our sins. By totally surrendering every area of our life to Jesus. By living in complete obedience to the known will of the Lord.
The tabernacle was give to God’s people so they could take their relationship one step closer. They could honor God. They could express their love to Him. They could express their commitment to Him. They could give their sacrifice of praise and love to Him. They could humbly confess their faults and transgressions and receive the gift of forgiveness and thereby enter into purity of heart.
Worship needs to begin with prayer and introspection. We need to take a quiet inventory of our life and attitude prior to worship. If the Holy Spirit reveals any rebel or disobedience between us and God – we need to immediately confess it and turn from it. We need to enter into the pure state of holiness of heart before we can truly worship. Then when we sing those love songs to God – we can sing with pure hearts of love. We can sing with joy. We can freely lift our hands or shout our praises or stand in honor. We can give our tithes in gratitude and love. We can pray in sincerity and truth. We can truly worship our Love.
One of the reasons we are here is to “Rejoice in Worship”. We call this hour the “Worship Service”. We call the songs we sang “Worship songs”. But real worship only happens when you are saved and living in obedience. Jesus said we are to worship in “Spirit and in truth”. (John 4:24) Jesus said that HE was the truth and God says that the Holy Spirit is only give to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). So real worship in Spirit and in Truth only happens when we are living in an obedient relationship with Christ and filled with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit will then help us worship God.
If you would like to be a true worshipper of God; if you want to “Rejoice in Worship” then remember the Exodus, the Law and the Tabernacle. Before worship in the tabernacle, you need to leave the world behind and live in obedience to God’s law. How do you do that? It starts with a prayer like this:
Dear Jesus,
Forgive me for rebelling against you. Forgive me for doing things my way. I promise to leave the things of the world behind. Lead me to Your promised land. Show me Your will and help me to live in obedience to it. Help me to worship You in Spirit and in Truth.
In Jesus Name,
