Lives of Worship
Scripture Text: Various Texts; Genesis 12; Exodus 3
Introduction: God used Biblical Characters’ “relationships, circumstances, experiences, and life lessons as a means for preparing them for greater things; which they achieved through worship (Whaley, Called to Worship, 84).” This week I want to help you to understand how the lives of Abraham, Moses, and Joshua show this; and how we can learn from them. (Three men and also three points concerning their worship)
Propositional Statement: We should understand that God works in every area of our lives; and most of all He wants us to honor Him and give Him priority to Him in everything we do.
To help clarify my direction this morning, let me ask you this: What has God taught you in your relationships, in your circumstances and experience that honor Him and give Him priority? Has He taught you that you can rely on Him in tough situations? Are you comfortable taking His guidance when you are in the midst of a stormy situation?
I. Abraham’s Worship
A. Was Divinely Initiated and Motivated (Genesis 12:1-The Worship of God only occurs as He chooses to reveal aspects of His divine purpose and character to human beings through word and deed.)
-We as people seem to believe that Jesus is ‘on the information highway’ these days as one of our many choices in a ‘religious smorgasbord.’ The name Jesus is used as if it is just another option when something is needed. I guarantee you; Jesus is not a fan of being just one deity among many others.
“How would any of us know God had He not revealed Himself to us?” God would still be in far-away transcendent place where none of us would know about Him or have the power to reach Him. In many places of the Old Testament, there is the expression that God is in Heaven and man is on earth. That is a long way away! Had God not revealed Himself to us; none of us would have access to His Mighty Throne.
ILLUS> How many of you are swimmers? Personally, I could maybe do a lap or two in an Olympic-sized pool; but then I would be struggling to stay above water …probably dog-paddling at this point. Can you imagine drowning with no lifeguard on duty? Well, Jesus is like a life-guard! He is there to save us when we are drowning. He takes the initiative to save the un-savable and throws you a life-ring. How important is this that Jesus initiates the relationship? It is sad that so many attempt to keep dog-paddling and do not recognize the authority of His Name to save them; and ultimately sink into the depths. The saving power of Jesus is the only reason that we are saved; and the only reason we are able to worship.
B. Was a Response to God’s Divine Self-Disclosure
-When God does reveal Himself, How do you respond to God? What, among several ways, can respond to Him? What do you want your worship to be?
1. Abraham worshipped God in a lot of ways. Abraham used an altar, he worshipped in the tithe, and he later worshipped God with a blood sacrifice. We don’t normally use an altar or offer blood sacrifices acceptable to God as Abraham did; bit we could respond in an expression of praise. An expression of thanksgiving. Or even active obedience to His directives.
We get up here on Sunday morning (and I might mention that this is one day a week) and sing some songs to help you in the congregation to worship God. We might tend to look at that performance and say, “Wow, that really was good—or maybe it wasn’t so good based on the production value, the voices, etc…. But however we do or don’t sound like your favorite music group; we do only come for one reason, and that is to express our hearts in worship to God!
Do you want your worship to be an expression of praise? When you are singing with us, does it help you to worship God? Maybe it is not your cup of tea? So what are you doing to express yourself in true worship? We do believe in having order in worship and we believe that we should not distract each other in our worship; but we also do not want to prevent you from expressing yourself to God in worship, especially when it helps others worship God too.
ILLUS> One of my favorite things that we learned at a prayer conference a couple years ago was fellowship and agreement in prayer. What a blessing to be in fellowship with other Christians who will agree with you in prayer. Knowing that this prayer is being lifted to Jesus and that you are not the only one that feels that way. Give a demonstration….
Maybe your expression of worship comes in thanksgiving? My favorite time of the worship service is the offering. Because this is the time I cannot pray a long enough prayer to God for all the things I am thankful for. What about you, do you have a laundry list of things to thank God for today?
Finally, worship is not just verbal and thoughtful. It is also active. Don’t you think worship should be active obedience to His guidance? That is the way Abraham worshipped God. Abraham’s initial act of worship was obedience to God. Look at Genesis 12:1-4 (Genesis 12:4- “so Abram left” were the operative words in Abraham’s story.)
C. Worship Brings Reward
-Abraham was blessed for his unceasing worship of the one God. God promised him a nation, a people, and descendents. Even when both Abraham and Sarah could not understand how God could possibly keep His promise…. God delivered. It will be the same for you when you practice biblical worship, from your heart. God will deliver you, and …you …will… finally understand… the promises of God.
One of the rewards of worship is in Romans 4:22–25 “Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM (ABRAHAM) AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also,” (You see that? For your sake Abraham’s story exists)
(So who gets the benefit?- “to whom it will be credited,”) It says in Romans 4: “those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,” Further, “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
This helps us to understand what promises God makes to you when you obey and worship Him? Romans 4:7–8 says, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN,
AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”
ILLUS> How blessed is the person whose sin God does not take into account. Even if you don’t deserve it; God provides for you. True story. Two pastors were on their way to Alanta, Ga. for a large Christian mens gathering. One of them had never been in the south before. After staying in a motel overnight, they stopped at a nearby restaurant for breakfast. When their meal was delivered, the pastor who had never been south before saw this white, mushy looking stuff on his plate. When the waitress came by again he asked her what it was. "Grits", she replied. "Ma'm I didn't order it and I'm not paying for it". "Sir, down here you don't order it and you don't pay for it, you just get it." like the grace of God! (Ray Raycroft)
Transition: So you see, Worship is the revelation of God; our response to His revelation, and ultimate reward.
II. Moses’ Worship
A. Worship Will Be Divinely Initiated and Motivated
-As God revealed Himself even more to the people of the Old Testament through Moses, divine self-disclosure played an even more prominent role in the development of worship. The revelation of the name Yahweh (or Jehovah) to Moses as the divinely appointed deliver of Israel marked a new stage in God's progressive revelation to the Hebrew people. The name is usually translated “I AM” in our versions, and connotes the personal, eternal, and all-sufficient aspects of God's nature and character.”
1. -God knew we would have to know more about who He was. You want to know who you are talking to right? It amazes me how many religions are in stark opposition to Christianity; and they do not even have God as their leader. In fact, they are just empty philosophies being advanced by empty followers.
--While members of Congress looked on, Rev. Sun Myung Moon declared himself the Messiah. In a ceremony that took place in Washington's Dirksen office building on March 23, 2004, Moon wore what appeared to be a white silk stole and a red velvet robe for the coronation.
The senators and Congressional members present had been invited to attend what was called a "peace awards banquet." Those who attended did so to witness the honoring of a constituent. Some lawmakers said they left prior to the ceremony and were unaware it had taken place. Others who stayed were uncertain as to its meaning.
The 83-year-old Moon is the founder and leader of the Unification Church. Moon also owns the Washington Times newspaper and the United Press International wire service.
The ceremony included the placement of ornamental golden crowns upon the heads of Moon and his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. The New York Times summarized Moon's speech after being crowned. "Emperors, kings and presidents had declared to all heaven and earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent." Citation: John Beukema, Western Springs, Illinois; source: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "A Crowning at the Capital Creates a Stir," NYTimes.com (6-24-04)
-When the people asked Moses who they were to follow; he did not say, “Ah, you know ‘such and such’? There was no sketchy identity involved! God said, When you go to the people you shall say, “‘I AM has sent me to you.’” To the sons of Israel he said, “‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.”(Exodus 3:14)
When you worship, you want to know the name of your Savior. It was important to the Israelites; and it is important to us!
B. Worship Will Be a Response to God’s Divine Self-Disclosure
- Once God had revealed Himself to the people in this way; it was now time for them to respond to God. How do we respond? Knowing that God is the very definition of who He is? In other words, let me ask some of you…. “When I say ‘God,’ who is He to you?” I am going to limit you to one word! (Give me a one-word definition of God-if they can’t think of one, let them look in Scripture)
-Just as it was in Moses’ time; it is important how we approach God. Moses covered his face, “because of his fear and respect for God.” In other words, he had reverence and honor for God.
- “So when you come before him, Worship Him! Be awestruck by His presence! Each time you do, you will be changed, because wherever you worship—in your special, set-apart place—it is “holy ground.”
- I have always equated my calling to service to Moses because of his repeated efforts to dissuade God and say that he was not worthy. There was always a reason why I could not serve God. I had so much to learn, as I still do. In Exodus 3:5, God tells Moses Exodus 3:5 “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” I can’t tell you how many times that I would not even approach God, clung to my sandals, and ran from God’s presence.
What would be your response to His presence?
C. Worship Will Be Rewarded
-Even in Moses’ story; the people were rewarded for obedience and worship.
-During Moses ministry, the contest between the God of the universe and the Egyptian gods, is notable. Let’s look at Exodus 9:13-17.
Vernon Whaley, in his book entitled Called to Worship wrote, Pharaoh tried “with all his might to eradicate worship of the one true God, …. He oppressed God's people, striving to take away their every reason to worship any god but himself. And he set himself up as a "king of kings" and an equal with God. But there is only one King of Kings, and he has no equal. So what was God's response to Pharaoh's arrogance? …. God denounced the Pharoah and his mythological gods. As you probably know, Yahweh himself emerged victorious in that contest.” Essentially, the story of Moses informs us that “God will fight for his worship;” and will “defend His worshipers.”
In Exodus 12:13, it says, “‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” The same goes for you! “When God sees the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for you, He will pass over you.” In other words, he will save you from all unrighteousness.
-Let me ask you this, “If you are in trouble, do you think that God will not come rescue you?” It’s been my experience, that if you stray, or like me ‘run full sprint’ away from God (and you are truly one of His children) that He will bring you back and protect you.
ILLUS>Moody talked about how, in the Highlands of Scotland, a sheep would often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they couldn't get out of. The grass on these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it, and they will jump down ten or twelve feet, and then they can't jump back again, and the shepherd hears them bleating in distress. They may be there for days, until they have eaten all the grass. The shepherd will wait until they are so faint they cannot stand, and then they will put a rope around him, and he will go over and pull that sheep up out of the jaws of death. "Why don't they go down there when the sheep first gets there?" I asked. "Ah!" He said, "they are so very foolish they would dash right over the precipice and be killed if they did!" And that is the way with men; they won't go back to God till they have no friends and have lost everything. If you are a wanderer I tell you that the Good Shepherd will bring you back the moment you have given up trying to save yourself and are willing to let Him save you His own way. Moody's Anecdotes, pp. 70-71
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In the book of John, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” …. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
Transition: It is my hope, that from what I have said so far that you see that worship developed in these three ways, in the life of Abraham, and Moses. It developed in the way God revealed himself, how people worshipped, and the rewards being a worshipper. The last character I wanted to mention today is Joshua.
III. Joshua’s Worship
A. Was Divinely Initiated and Motivated
-God revealed Himself to Joshua in many of the ways that He did to Moses; but what is interesting here is: The way that he revealed himself to Joshua, is even closer and more similar to the way that He reveals Himself to us. It is not often today that God reveals Himself to us through a burning bush; or in an audible voice. So how does he reveal himself? Sometimes it is through his word, the Bible; but I am pointing you towards the way God reveals Himself through other people. How would we ever know about any of God’s revelation had Abraham, Moses’, and Joshua’s stories not have been told to us? Even Joshua learned a lot from Moses. In 2 Timothy 2:2 it says, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
-A hint of how God was using Joshua in preparation of worship is this: that "even after Moses had left the tent, Joshua would often remain, in the presence of the Lord." He learned to worship from Moses, and that "obedience was the groundwork for authentic worship."
B. Was a Response to God’s Divine Self-Disclosure
-So how did Joshua respond to Gods revelation of Himself?
-One of the hurdles for Joshua was crossing the Jordan as commanded by God. So many times, before the people actually crossed the Jordan river as God commanded, it say... “are they not across?” “for you are about to cross” “when you cross” “it shall be on the day that you cross” All of these indicate the lengthy preparation and procrastination of Gods people.
And just as Joshua had obstacles to obeying God, we will to! We may have to take longer to think about this; but I am going to give you just a moment to think about what obstacles prevent your obedience. What procrastination are you in the middle of today? What prevents you from being faithful to Him?
-For Joshua, even if he were to get the people to cross the river; he would have to learn to trust God for winning battles, despite them being an innumerably smaller force. In all the circumstances of life; we need to be prepared for holiness, and always seek to glorify God in all integrity.
-We are learning today that worship does not only involve understanding or believing What God wants us to do; but also actually doing it. Joshua and the people faced some very real challenges here; and God wanted them to know that they could trust Him. A prevalent aspect of Joshua’s worship involved not only verbal assent to God's commands; but also action that signified that worship. It says in Joshua 5:5, “For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.” This was a sign that they were set apart to be God’s people. When you think about it, this was not easy! It was not like today, where people are circumcised in a clean, sanitary hospital. It says in verse 3 that they used flint knives. It doesn’t sound that safe to me. But they trusted themselves to being 'set apart' to God in circumcision; which certainly involved way more than just verbal assent. This was the way that God’s people responded to His revelation of Himself to them. Difficulties or obstacles were placed in their paths; but they obeyed and were rewarded. God fought for the people, and blessed them in so many ways.
• Conclusion: So here is the three part conclusion:
• First, it is important for us to know that without God’s initiative in revealing Himself to Us that it would be as it was many times in the Old Testament; an unreachable God far away in the Heavens. God is not far away anymore. Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” This is no smorgasbord polytheistic freebee though. God wants you to give Him priority in your life. For God so loved the world that He sent His Son… What a high cost for people to think he is a gift store novelty to choose for themselves. No! Even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! Our lives of worship should result from a recognition of that.
• Secondly, we need to respond to God spiritually and truthfully through expressions of praise and thanksgiving; and those expressions should be manifested in our lives by action, to His Glory! Every area of our lives prepare us to worship God. Worship should be honoring to God and should be the priority in our lives. We should practice what we preach! Do not let others put you down for trying because failing is not disqualification in God’s kingdom. Don’t let people say, “Well, “you Christians are all hypocrites” All people are sinners, and therefore all hypocrites in some way, whether we recognize it or not. We are all human is probably a good way to look at it. So don’t be disqualified in life actions as you try to glorify God in your life and worship Him! He loves you even when you fail!
• Thirdly, we need to know that we will be rewarded in worship; both now and in all eternity. Jesus said, I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly! He came that you might live life to the full! What clarifying question are you asking on a daily basis that will help you remember that God loves you and has blessed you in more ways than you can ever imagine? What a loving Father we have! May you respond to Him today!
