“Here I am to Worship”
May 21, 2017
Psalm 100
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Psalm 122:1
“I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
One of the more enjoyable things I do with my time is to meet every Monday evening for a couple of hours with Michael Newby and study the Word. We are studying the Old Testament and Spiritual Formation. We talk a lot about God, the Bible and Spiritual things. Last week we were chatting after the class time and somehow we got on the topic of coming to Church. I think it had to do with sermon preparation. I said something about I think people mainly need to be encouraged on Sunday. I try to teach Spiritual things but I have found people are hurting and need encouragement and hope.
Michael made the comment that he felt like he came to church mainly to worship. As I thought about it - I believe he is right. There are at least two perspectives for coming to church. Probably more, but let’s reduce them to two. Our perspective and God’s perspective. Our perspective is kind of like “What can you do for me today?” God’s perspective is “I will come to worship God”. “I will come to give of myself.”
Pastor Rick Warren starts out one of his “Purpose Driven” books with “It’s not about you.” I think it is the “Purpose Driven Life”. The point is that so many of us think life is all about us. We are the center of our universe. The world revolves around us and our wants and needs and desires. We are born that way. No baby has to be taught self-centeredness. He does not care how tired his mother is. When he is hungry – he demands food IMMEDIATELY! When he has a poopy diaper – he demands change IMMEDIATELY. As he begins to talk, some of the first words he learns is “me and mine”. We are just born that way. It is all about us. Some never get over that mindset. We get more subtle; more tactful; more diplomatic in how we manipulate things to get our way but make no mistake. We want things done OUR way.
Now, I don’t know that that is right or wrong. It just is. Most of the time it is okay. Sometimes it is very wrong. But it is a problem when we come to church with that mindset. If we don’t get what we want – we may stop going. Truth be told, probably most church goers have that mindset. So when the preaching isn’t to their liking or the music is not to their taste or when they don’t feel good when they leave – they may try some place else to go to church.
I remember a friend saying to me many years ago, hinting, I think, that they might come to our church, “I’m not being fed at my church.” I think I said something they weren’t expecting to hear. I said words to the effect – “Good grief! You are an adult. You are supposed to be feeding yourself by now. If you are still living on milk I suppose someone needs to feed you – but if you are spiritually mature you need to be feeding on ‘meat’ and you need to feed yourself.” I don’t think we proselyted him. Hopefully he returned to his church to serve and not to be served.
So why do you come to church? There are many reasons. But the primary one is to worship God. Michael is right. We need to lay down our wants and needs and desires and worship.
Someone may say, “My best worship is by myself.” ME TOO! But there is something about collective worship that is important to the heart of God. It is important to us. The Old Testament says,
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.” Exodus 20:8-10
In the New Testament it says, “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread…” Acts 20:7
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” 1 Corinthians 16:1-2
In the Old Testament, on Saturday, the last day of the week, we were to come together, as directed by the Old Covenant, to rest and worship God. We broke the old Covenant with God through our sin - so Jesus brought a new one. The New Covenant, we also call it ‘the New Testament’, changed the day of worship from the Sabbath to the Lord’s Day. Our friends who are living partly in the Old Testament and partly in the New Testament say we need to worship on Saturday. Clearly the Early Church was not. They were coming together on Sunday, the Lord’s Day; the day of His resurrection – to celebrate and worship.
I don’t try to change my Old Testament friends mind or tell them the Old Testament was broken and no longer valid and that is why there was a need for the New Covenant. I leave it alone. Sometimes they won’t - but the Bible says,
“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16-17
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.”
“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore” Romans 14:5-6;12
My personal feeling is that God doesn’t care what day of the week you worship Him – just that you worship. He doesn’t care what day; what time; even what method you worship – just worship. You can jump and dance and skip on a pew, as some song said. Worship in Spirit and Truth, Jesus said.
We used to sing a song that went, “Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that You’re my God.” I think that has to be one of the primary reasons we come to church – to tell God publicly “YOU are my God.” It is important to tell the world that. The Bible says,
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:10
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38
Do you see how important it is to have a public witness? A lot of people today say things like “I worship out in nature” or “I get my church from the TV”. The Bible says,
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:24-25
Do you see the motive for coming together? Not to be fed or to be entertained – but to spur one another; to help one another to be better; to encourage one another.
When we come to church our focus ought to be on what we can DO; how we can help; how we can minister. Jesus said,
“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26-28
Do you understand that the Christ-like spirit is to serve; to minister; to help others? Every Christian ought to come to church with a purpose to serve in some way. His primary purpose is to worship God. His secondary purpose is to serve his brothers and sisters. We come to give of ourselves. If we receive something – well – that is just icing on the cake. And let me tell you a secret – you can’t be a blessing to others without being blessed yourself.
Many years ago when I first came to Christ, I came to Him in my own home. My alter was my sofa. But after awhile the Spirit clearly lead me to join a body of believers. I tried a few but then I was clearly lead to the Church of the Nazarene. I didn’t know the mission or the purpose of the church at the time but I have grown to love it. Listen.
“The mission of the Church of the Nazarene is to make Christlike disciples in the nations.” “The primary objective of the Church of the Nazarene is to
advance God’s kingdom by the preservation and propagation of Christian holiness as set forth in the Scriptures.”
I like that. I then we have our purpose and mission right. It is biblical. Why do YOU come to church? Here are five reasons from Rick Warren.
WORSHIP
Healthy churches grow stronger through worship. We were planned for God’s pleasure. It isn’t just what we do on Sunday that God considers to be worship. So healthy churches help people worship God through every area of their lives, every day of the week. We do everything for God’s glory!
FELLOWSHIP
Healthy churches grow warmer through fellowship. There is a heavy emphasis on relationships in purpose driven churches. A church gathers on the weekend to celebrate and set the stage for guests, but then scatters all week long in small groups where biblical community takes place.
DISCIPLESHIP
Healthy churches grow deeper through discipleship. We were created to become like Christ, and the local church is God’s instrument of choice to establish a process through which Jesus’ followers can grow spiritually. Growing churches are filled with growing believers.
MINISTRY
Healthy churches grow broader through ministry. We are saved to serve each other, so God has given every believer a unique shape – a mixture of spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personality, and experiences – to serve God by serving others. Every member is a minister in a purpose driven church.
EVANGELISM
Healthy churches grow larger through evangelism. That is, they put their focus on reaching the next unreached person in their community. And they think beyond their immediate community to the entire world. Growing churches are churches that join Jesus on mission to seek and to save the lost.
We say it a little differently in our church. A number of years ago our church got together to ask that question and answer that question. You answered it this way. The purpose of our Church is to “bring Christ to the community.” And we used the Word ‘CHRIST’ to help us remember.
C – Church purpose is:
H – Help others come to Christ (Evangelism)
R – Rejoice in worship (Worship)
I – Inspire & encourage in fellowship (Fellowship)
S – Serve and equip to minister (Ministry)
T – Teach Christlikeness (Discipleship)
You have a purpose for being here. You are the hands of God. You are the voice of God. You are the mind of God. That is all well and good. But never forget the first and foremost reason you are here is to experience God and worship Him. May it always be so.
