An Offer to God
Griffith Baptist Church – 3/29/09
P.M. Service
Text: Psalm 50
Key verse: Psalms 50:23 – Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.
Premise: God does not want sanctimonious platitudes and feel-good ritual; He wants us, and our praise to Him needs to reflect true righteousness and thanksgiving.
The Introduction
The Character of the Judge - 50:1-6
The Calling from the Judge - 50:7-15
The Condemnation by the Judge - 50:16-21
The Consideration of the Judge - 50:22-23
During the tenure of the great orator Henry Ward Beecher, a visiting minister (Beecher’s brother) once substituted for the popular pastor. A large audience had already assembled to hear Beecher, and when the substitute pastor stepped into the pulpit, several disappointed listeners began to move toward the exits. That’s when the minister stood and said loudly, ’All who have come here today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church. All who have come to worship God keep your seats!" Today in the Word, April, 1989, p. 22
What do you have to offer God?
What do you think God is pleased with in your own life?
Shouldn’t we want to please God since He has done so much for us?
Some offer Him what they think He wants
Others offer what will get noticed
Still more give nothing at all
It has been said that a religion that costs nothing is worth nothing.
Here in this Psalm, we are looking at God as the judge of His people and what they have offered, or not offered Him.
Let’s takes a look at four (4) priceless gifts we can offer God that He will be pleased with.
Body
1. Offer God Dedication, Not Worthless Religion – 7
A. As a young family was driving away from church after the dedication of their baby, little Johnny, the older brother, cried all the way home in the back seat of the car. His mother asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "The pastor said he wanted us to be brought up in a Christian home... but I want to stay with you guys!"
B. Israel had become distracted from the “who” of worship to the “what” of worship:
i. They had to be told to listen because their ears were tuned into something else(7a)
ii. God had to remind them that He was “their God” (7c)
iii. Their religion had become old news and dull – Matthew 13:15 - For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
C. Complete commitment is the hallmark of our faith:
i. Thomas Chalmers said, “O Heavenly Father, convert my religion from a name to a principle! Bring all my thoughts and movements into an habitual reference to Thee!
ii. Our God should never become dull, and that comes through:
a. Reading and heeding the Word of God
b. Prayer
c. Service
iii. It is how God is pleased - Hebrews 11:1, 6 - 1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
iv. It is the chief command – Mark 12:30 – And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment
v. Committed in our journey - Psalms 37:5 – Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
vi. Committed in our thoughts and actions - Proverbs 16:3 - Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
2. Offer God Sincerity, Not Empty Ritual – 8-15
A. In Washington, D.C., Bill Clinton tried to remove an unflattering portrait that has been hung around his neck for three years, urging the Christian conservatives not to condemn ’the motives and character" of people with whom they disagree because if they ’could look into my soul they would see someone whose belief is God is as sincere and deep and genuine as theirs" and who probably is ’much more humble in his Christian faith than many of them are." U. S. News & World Report, March 6, 1995, p. 15
B. Israel had fallen into the rut of ritualism:
i. Their religion had become recycled and redundant
ii. This is the danger of ritualistic worship - Isaiah 1:11-18 - 11To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 12When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
iii. Insincerity leads to straying
iv. The story is told about the baptism of King Aengus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king’s foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king’s forgiveness.
Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the Saint wanted to know.
The king replied, ’I thought it was part of the ritual." Knowing the Face of God, Tim Stafford, p. 121ff
C. Complete authenticity is the groundwork of our worship:
i. Bunyan said that the house of the formalist is as empty of religion as the white of an egg is of savor. The New Dictionary of Thoughts
ii. We should never become so formal and ritualistic in our worship that it loses its meaning.
iii. Authentic attitude - John 4:24 – God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
iv. Authentic motive - 1 Samuel 16:7 – But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
v. Authentic humility - Psalms 51:17 – The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
3. Offer God Truth, Not False Righteousness – 16-21
A. THE TRUTH HURTS Some of us may be able to sympathize with the fellow who received a call from his wife just as she was about to fly home from Europe. "How’s my cat?" she asked. "Dead." "Oh, honey, don’t be so honest. Why didn’t you break the news to me slowly? You’ve ruined my trip." "What do you mean?" "You could have told me he was on the roof. And when I called you from Paris, you could have told me he was acting sluggish. Then when I called from London, you could have said he was sick, and when I called you from New York, you could have said he was at the vet. Then, when I arrived home, you could have said he was dead." The husband had never been exposed to such protocol but was willing to learn. "OK," he said. "I’ll do better next time." "By the way," she asked, "how’s Mom?" There was a long silence, then he replied, "Uh, she’s on the roof." SOURCE: Just like Jesus, by Max Lucado, p. 108
B. Israel had disgraced itself with hypocrisy:
i. Robert Redford was walking one day through a hotel lobby. A woman saw him and followed him to the elevator. ’Are you the real Robert Redford?" she asked him with great excitement. As the doors of the elevator closed, he replied, ’Only when I am alone!"
ii. Look at the list of judgments against her:
a. Declaring the Word in the open while denying it elsewhere (16-17)
b. Theft (18a)
c. Adultery (18b)
d. Lying (19)
e. Slander (20)
f. Falsely thinking because of God’s silence and patience they were OK
iii. BOTTOM LINE: They would be judged for these things
C. Complete genuineness is the foundation of our religion
i. Real obedience - James 1:22-24, 26 – 22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
ii. Real character - Philippians 1:10 – That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
iii. Real change - James 3:17 - But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
iv. Real testimony - James 1:27 - Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
4. Offer God Praise, Not Shallow Rhetoric – 22-23
A. Jesus himself said to his disciples, “[L]et your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) This is a concept that is sometimes a challenge for us. In fact I recently read about a little girl who came home from Sunday School right after studying this verse. She asked her mother, when she repeated the verse, what it meant. Her mom said, "Well, it means that when you are good and kind and thoughtful and obedient, you are letting Christ’s light shine in your life before all who know you." The very next Sunday in Sunday School, the little girl got in a bit of a fracas with another student and created somewhat of an uproar--to such an extent that the Sunday School teacher had to go and find her mother to get her settled down a bit in the class. Her mother was concerned when she got to the classroom and said, "Sweetie, don’t you remember about letting your light shine for the Lord before [others]?" The girl blurted out, "Mom, I have blowed myself out!" Source: W. Frank Harrington, "The Love That Brought Him," Preaching Today, Tape No. 51, cited on PreachingToday.com.
B. Israel had forgotten what true praise was and invited God’s judgment on them:
i. We get the distinct impression throughout Scripture that God does not want to be ignored or forgotten.
ii. Israel always had the cycles that they went through:
a. Worship
b. Sin
c. Judgment
d. Salvation
C. Complete devotion is the requirement of our life
i. Because there is much to be thankful for - Psalms 50:14 – Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
ii. Because that is the greatest sacrifice with the greatest result - Romans 12:1 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
iii. Because a giving God deserves a devoted servant - 1 Samuel 12:24 – Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
iv. Because you are His - 1 Corinthians 6:20 – For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Conclusion:
What do you have to offer God?
Have you offered yourself rather than things?
Do you give God what doesn’t really cost you that much or do you lay everything before Him and let Him do what He wants with it?
What choice do you think is better!
