TEXT: Psalm 96:1-13
Intro: Worship, by definition, is 'the reverent love shown to God.' It is homage.
In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus exposed the vain worship of the Pharisees; their worship sounded good, but it was worthless because their heart was not where it should have been. They followed man's direction instead of God's will. In other words, they wore doing what they wanted instead of what God wanted.
And that brings us to the soul-searching question of this lesson: What is my motivation to think what I should be thinking, feel what I should be feeling and do what I should be doing in worship?
Psalm 96 focuses on motivation for worship (v. 4). In Psalm 96 these motivations are given:
He has saved us (v. 2) – doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
He is the Creator (v. 5)
His presence fills His temple (v. 6)
He is majestic and holy (v. 9)
He is Judge (10-13)
Notice each of these motivations focuses on God!
I) He saves us! Salvation involves rescue or the meeting of a life sustaining need that we cannot supply for ourselves.
A) When people asked Jesus to use His divine power to save them from impossible predicaments, they often worshiped Him!
1) Matthew 8:2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
2) Matthew 9:18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."
3) Matthew 15:25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"
B) As it was with Israel long ago, the plea for our salvation, and the response to receiving it, motivates worship! Psalm 106:47 “Save us, O LORD our God, And gather us from among the Gentiles, To give thanks to Your holy name, To triumph in Your praise.”
II) He is our Creator
A) When Paul is reasoning with the men of Athens to motivate them to worship the one true God in an appropriate way, here is what he says: Acts 17:24-28 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. (25) Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. (26) And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, (27) so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; (28) for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'”
B) This is the very reason He is worshiped by the 24 elders in Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."
C) Failing to honor God has our Creator results in worshiping the wrong things!
1) Romans 1:20-25
2) Everyone is enthralled by the beauty and grandeur of nature, but few even begin to appreciate the Creator of the natural world. Which do we love more, the mountains, the ocean, the beautiful sunset, the glowing stars OR the One who made them???
D) Worship flows unimpeded from the creature to the Creator!
1) Nehemiah 9:6 You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.
2) Pslam 95:1-6, esp. 6 “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”
III) He is Present
A) The mere presence of God in His temple among His people prompted the sincerest worship in the Old Testament period!
1) When He was present in the Tabernacle: “And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.” (Exodus 33:9-10)
2) When He was present in the Temple: “And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever." (2 Chronicles 7:2-3)
3) The Lord in His temple should strike us with awe and the greatest respect: Habakkuk 2:20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him."
B) Today, the church is God’s temple and He is present among us!
1) 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
2) Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (“This is a general assertion made to support the particular promise made Mat_18:19 to his apostles.” – Albert Barnes)
3) His presence can be perceived by His word being spoken and His authority respected! 1 Corinthians 14:25 “And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.”
IV) God’s Holiness – His “otherness”
A) In Revelation 4:8-10, it is the declaration of God’s divine holiness that cues the 24 elders to worship Him.
1) In Isaiah 6:1-5, when Isaiah witnesses the same declaration he recognizes that the difference between He and God is so vast that he stands before Him “undone” (“lost” ESV or “doomed” CEV).
2) We must “mind the gap” between our uncleanness and God’s holiness. ILLUS: I’m told that if you ride the tube in London, the phrase "mind the gap" soon becomes ingrained in your memory. Whenever you get on or off the train you hear a recorded voice continually reminding you of the dangerous gap that awaits unsuspecting and distracted travelers. The phrase "Mind the Gap" is even painted on the edge of the pavement at the point where passengers step into the train In as spiritual sense, we must constantly mind the gap between ourselves and our holy God.
B) Psalms 99:2-3 The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples. (3) Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy
V) He is our judge
A) He judges and works his will with nations and among men. Revelation 15:4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested."
B) And He is the determiner of our eternal destiny. Revelation 20:11-12 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. (12) And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Conclusion: Worship is not a time to bury our feelings, but to express them. It is not a time to ignore God’s directions, but carefully and completely adhere to them. We have some powerful reasons to worship in spirit and in truth!
