Three Benefits Of Worshiping God
For centuries being a worshiper of God has meant offering the right sacrifices – following the right set of rules – obeying a certain set of guidelines and worshipping on the right day week or in the right place.
Do you remember the woman at the well? Jesus is trying to tell her about living water, He points out the mistakes she has made in her life. Do you remember what she does? She tries to change the subject. She says, “What about this worship thing? Where do you think we should worship? My people worship over here, but your people say we have to worship in Jerusalem. What do you think?”
Jesus answer is that there is a time coming when people will be able to worship wherever they want, however they want, as long as they worship in Spirit and in Truth.
One of the greatest problems we have today – with worship – is the same problem humans have had down through the centuries. We as humans have a tendency to make worship mechanical. We think we need a certain type of building. We think we need a certain order of the service. We think the worship songs we sing should be a certain style or that they should be a certain tempo. We think that in order to encounter God, we must approach Him at a certain time, in a certain place and on a certain day. But God is not limited by our limited concepts of worship. He wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
When I was a child and I did something wrong my parents would always make me apologize. There were times when I didn’t want to apologize. So I would have to say the right words, “I’m sorry.” But I really wasn’t. I wasn’t sorry one little bit. The words were there – but I was not sincere. My parents wanted a sincere apology. I didn’t give it. The words of my mouth were the right words - but my heart was as far as the east is from the west of what I was really thinking. There was an apology – but there was no sincerity. It kind of reminds me of the passage Jesus quotes from the Old Testament in Mark chapter seven:
’This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me.’ Mark 7:6-7 (NKJV)
God would rather hear sincere heart-felt worship than routine ritual. Because we get caught up in methodology today – we face the same problems that the worshipers down through the centuries have faced. We get stale.
We come to worship and we are not changed. We come to worship and we are not challenged. We come to worship and we don’t have an encounter with God. Worship has become liturgy rather than a life giving experience. Jesus has told us that He has come to give us life – but we must encounter Him in a way that is pleasing to Him. We must find Him. We must touch Him. We must worship Him. Look at our focal verse today.
"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:23-24 (NASV)
This verse from John is talking about a true encounter of worship. It is talking about a continuous attitude of worship. We must worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Worship can be nothing less. Let me give you three benefits of worship. The first is:
1. Worship gets our FOCUS on God
We need to worship God. We need to be grateful for the good things we enjoy and we need to express our gratitude to God. We need to express that God is worthy of our praise – that He is worthy of our attention – that He is worthy of our time. When good things happen to us we need to be thankful to the one who gives us the good things and when bad things happen we need to come to Him and acknowledge that He is big enough to take care of our problems. Look at what it says in the book of James:
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17 (NKJV)
Look at where the focus of this verse is at – it’s on the “Father of Lights – with whom there is no shadow.” That is a song of praise – that is a song of worship. My Father has no darkness. My Father has no deceit. My Father has no alternative motives. He is pure love. He is pure light. He is pure mercy. He gives me grace. He gives me forgiveness. He gives me love. He gives me every good and perfect gift that I have ever received. Wow! Praise God! Wow! Worship God! When we come into the presence of God - when we look at what God has given us – we can-not but help praising Him – we can-not but help worshiping Him.
I read this story this past week about Grandma’s peanut brittle:
Grandma makes blue ribbon peanut brittle for the county fair. She knows you love her peanut brittle so she gives you some. Now she may grin and chuckle to her friends if you hide it and sneak one piece at a time and eat it by yourself - she’s your grandma, and she overlooks your hording of the peanut brittle. She is thankful that you like her candy.
But if you take the peanut brittle to work and share it with all your friends – she becomes an instant celebrity. If your friends ever see your grandma they will never fail to mention her peanut brittle. Think how that makes her feel when she calls her friends! "Oh, Tom’s taken my peanut brittle to work and now they all want me to make some for them." It’s not a complaint – it’s a complement. It’s praise – that’s worship.
God loves it when we acknowledge all the good things that He has given to us. He likes it even more when we share it with those who are around us. We should focus in on what God has done for us. How He has forgiven us – how He has changed us – how He sustains us. We should be grateful to Him. We should praise Him. We should tell our friends about Him. That is praise – that is worship.
If you are getting a little down in the dumps – start considering all the things God has done for you. Start thanking Him for the blessings He has given you – that’s praise – that is worship. Focus on Him. Worship Him. Praise Him. Worship places our focus on God.
Our second point is that:
2. Worship increases our UNDERSTANDING of God
Alexander Whyte, the Scottish preacher from time past, always began his prayers with an expression of gratitude. No matter what was going on he began his prayers with a word of praise. One cold, miserable day his congregation wondered what he would say. He got up to pray and said, "We thank Thee, O Lord, that the weather is not always like this."
I am thankful that God is a God who is able to change the weather – aren’t you?
Jesus is in the boat sleeping. The storm is raging. We are tossed here and there. We are battered by the waves. We think that we are going to drown. Yet the master awakes. He comes – He changes things. He is able to make a difference in our lives – even when the storms of life are raging.
This past week I looked up two verses that speak about what God is able to do. Look at this verse from second Corinthians with me.
”And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 (HCSB)
I am thankful that God is able to make all grace abound toward me. So much grace that it overflows. Look at the next verse. This is a verse talking about Abraham.
“He (Abraham) considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead.” Hebrews 11:19 (HCSB)
You know the story of Abraham. You know how God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. You know how Abraham had prayed to God for a child yet for many years there was none. Yet later in life, God was able to give him and Sarah a son, a little boy, whom they named Isaac. What a glorious birthday celebration that must have been. What a glorious time of praise that must have been. I can almost hear Abraham say, “Thank you God – for You made it possible that I could have a child – a son – even in my old age – praise You!” A child had been born to Abraham and Sarah – and they were full of praise. But then you know what happen. God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. To take him up on the mountain – to lay him on the alter – to sacrifice him to the Lord. Abraham was obedient. Abraham was faithful. Abraham did what was asked of him – and took the knife to kill his son and just as he took the knife to slay Isaac - God intervened. God provided a ram – caught in the brush. God provided a sacrifice.
But here is a truth that we often miss in the story. Abraham believed that “God was able” – He was able to allow Abraham and Sarah to have a child in their old age – He was able to provide a sacrifice in place of Isaac – He was able to even raise the dead. Abraham believed that even if Isaac had been killed – he could have been brought back to life. Praise builds understanding. Praise God for what He has done for you. Understand that God is able. Praise God for what He will do for you. Understand that God is able. Praise God for the blessing that you have. Praise God from whom all blessing flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above the heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
That brings us to the third point:
3. Worship helps build our CONFIDENCE in God
Listen to a song of praise and worship from Mosses:
"God is my strength, God is my song, and, yes! God is my salvation. This is the kind of God I have and I’m telling the world! This is the God of my father— I’m spreading the news far and wide!" Exodus 15:2 (MSG)
Here is a man who is speaking in confidence. He doesn’t say that God might be my strength. He doesn’t say that God may be my song. He doesn’t say that God could be my salvation – he says that God “IS”. God is my strength. God is my song. God is my salvation. And why shouldn’t Mosses express his confidence in God – he has already seen what God is capable of. God is able to release the chosen people from the bond of slavery - He did it.
Or look at what the prophet Joel says:
"You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied. You will praise the name of Yahweh your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. My people will never again be put to shame." Joel 2:26 (HCSB)
Joel says – YOU WILL – not that you might or you may – but YOU WILL. Joel is speaking in confidence. “You will have plenty to eat. You will be satisfied.”
You see God can open up doors that we think are shut. God can turn circumstances and situations upside down. That’s how God works.
There was a man in England during the 1900’s who saw the power of God feed a group of people. The man was George Muller and he founded several orphanages which cared for as many as 2,000 children. One night Muller was informed that the supply of food was gone at one of the orphan houses. The next morning he joined the children for breakfast. There was a bowl, a plate and a glass in front of each of the several hundred children, but all were empty.
Mr. Muller asked the children to bow their heads as he prayed. His words included "Father, we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat."
After he ended the prayer there was a knock at the door. A baker was standing there who said, "I couldn’t sleep last night. I felt you didn’t have any bread and the Lord wanted me to send you some, so I got up at 2:00 this morning and baked some fresh bread for you."
George Muller not only thanked the baker, but also said a prayer of thanksgiving to God.
Within a few minutes there was a second knock at the door. There was a milkman standing at the door. He explained that his milk cart had broken down right in front of the home. The milk had to be unloaded and he wanted to give it to the home for the children. "Could you take it?’’ he asked.
George Muller knew that if he would turn over to the Lord the problem of the hungry orphans, the Lord would provide. There is a lesson in this for us. When we turn over to the Lord the resources He has given us, He will use those resources to further His kingdom in ways that we cannot understand.
God can do great things! God is able! God is big enough!
"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:23-24 (NASV)
Let us pray
(This sermon is a reworking of my sermon, “Three Benefits of Praise.” It will also become part of a series, “Why Worship?” *Note: I have found that a sermon can be preached a second time – after a significant period of time - reworked and refreshed in the Pastor’s mind.)
