I read the story about a couple named Mary and Jim and their dog 'Lucky.' Lucky was an unusual dog. Whenever company come for a weekend visit Mary and Jim had to warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something turned up missing. Then Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys STAYED in his box.
One day Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease.... she was sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, and - the night before go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky - and a thought struck her: what would happen to Lucky? Lucky was HER dog. She thought: “If I die, Lucky will feel abandoned. He won't understand that she didn't want to leave him!” And that thought made her sadder… than the thought of her own death.
The operation was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and she was hospitalized for over two weeks. At home, Jim took Lucky for his evening walk, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.
When Mary finally got to go home, she was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. So she spent the night on the couch. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. She was so exhausted she finally went to sleep.
But she woke some time during the night sensing something was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. Then, she began to laugh. The reason she couldn’t move was because she was literally covered with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, her dog had made trip after trip to the basement bring her all his favorite things. He had covered her with his love.
Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. Years later Mary was still cancer-free. (See footnote)
Lucky covered her with his love (pause).
Last week we talked about how God showed His love FOR US, by the things He Created, by the Bible He’s given us, and – most importantly – by the gift of His only begotten Son.
This week – we’re going to talk about one of the ways that we can show our love FOR HIM. There are many ways that we can show our love for God, but Psalm 100 is talking about how we can show that love in our worship.
Look again: “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! ... Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” Psalm 100:1-2 & 4
One of the meanings of “Worship” is “to adore.” The idea is to praise Him, sing to Him, give thanks to Him and to bless His name. Now this is important on a couple level. First --- it is the mark of what God’s people do.
• Psalm 22:23 says “You who fear the LORD, praise him!”
• Psalm 33:1 tells us “Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.”
• And Psalm 135:3 declares “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!”
• But Psalm 115:17-18 goes one step further: “The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence. But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!”
God’s people are expected to praise God and give Him thanks… it’s what we do!
ILLUS: The story is told of an old farmer who was sitting down at a restaurant. When his food was served he bowed his head to give thanks. At the next table a bunch of young men snickered at the sight and one shouted out. "Hey, old man, does everyone do that out where you live?" The old man calmly replied, "No, son. Pigs don't!"
Giving thanks and giving praise… is what WE DO! It’s one of the ways we express our love for God. When we praise Him, and sing praises to Him and worship Him we’re behaving a little like that dog Lucky… we literally cover our Master with our love.
Now WHERE can we do that? Where can we worship God? Well… just about anywhere. Old Testament greats like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob worshiped God in the wilderness. David worshiped out on the hills while taking care of father’s sheep. The prophet Daniel worshiped God in the quietness of his room. You can worship God anywhere!
But what’s interesting about Psalm 100 is that it talks about “GOING” someplace to worship. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!” Psalm 100:4
Jeremiah says pretty much the same thing “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD.” Jeremiah 7:2
Going someplace to worship God - with others - is a common concept in Bible. God asked His Old Testament people to come to the Temple to worship. They could praise God (and pray to God, and sing to God) ANYWHERE. But when push came to shove, the major focus of worship for the people of God was at the temple.
What God was doing here was driving home the fact that worship isn’t about US! God never designed worship to be a “Lone Ranger” kind of thing where we could go off into our own little corner and ignore the rest of God’s people.
ILLUS: I once had a woman call me needing prayer and financial help. As we talked I explained she needed to find a church where she could worship God. “Oh, I worship God just as well at home.” (I doubted that and found later that she spent most of her “worship” time with alcohol). What she meant was, that she would periodically have warm fuzzy feelings about God, and that these warm fuzzy feelings would lead to believe that God approved of how she lived. With a little bit of gentle persuasion, however, she eventually came to worship with us and appreciated what she’d been missing.
God has called His people to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
But, how are we gonna do that? There’s no Temple anymore. It was destroyed in 70 A.D.. (pause) Is the church building the new Temple? Oh heaven’s no! We talk about “going to church”, but the building we meet in not the “church.” It’s just a building. Granted, we’ve dedicated this building to worship of God, but this building is NOT THE CHURCH.
Do you know what the church really is? That’s right – we are. We (the people gathered here) are the church! In fact, we are the TEMPLE of God.
Ephesians 2:19-22 says “you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy TEMPLE in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a DWELLING PLACE for God by the Spirit.”
You see, we don’t need a building called a church in order to worship God as a church. Whenever and wherever you come together as a CHURCH, then you are a HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord and then you are a DWELLING PLACE for God. Church is designed to be a time when we gather together to worship.
And when you do it right, people’s lives change. Paul wrote the Corinthians that “(when) an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.” I Corinthians 14:24-25
When we do church right, we create an atmosphere where newcomers – even unbelievers – are convicted of their need to worship God because WE are worshiping the way we should. In a sense I think we make them jealous of the love we have for God.
So church worship is when we gather together to sing praises, give thanks, and give praise. It’s what we DO as Christians. And, it’s what God asks of us. He desires that we PRAISE Him, and THANK Him, and SING to Him.
Now there are people who have a problem with that. A lot of skeptics and atheists have mocked our faith because our God asks His people to praise Him, and thank Him, and sing to Him. They attack our God and make fun of Him because this seems so selfish and egotistical and self-focused.
Their attitude is summed up by a statement by the famous actor Brad Pitt (he used to be part of a strong Bible believing church, but as of 2017 one article said he “hovers between atheism and agnosticism”). Pitt said “I didn’t understand this idea of a God who says, ‘You have to acknowledge me. You have to say that I’m the best, and then I’ll give you eternal happiness. If you won’t, then you don’t get it!’ It seemed to be about ego. I can’t see God operating from ego, so it made no sense to me.”
It made no sense to Brad Pitt. And yet that’s exactly what God asks us to do. We need to “acknowledge Him” and we need to bless HIS name, give thanks to HIM and sing praises to HIM. As the 10 Commandments tell us – He is a jealous God and will not allow His people to worship any other god.
But why? Why would God NEED our praises and our thanks, etc.?
Well here’s the deal - God doesn’t. God doesn’t NEED our praises and our thanks. God doesn’t - but WE DO! We’re the ones who need to do this.
Someone once said that everyone is born with a “God sized” hole inside them. There’s this need inside of all of us to worship SOMETHING. It could be a worship of wealth or sex, or possessions, or power. And if we don’t fill that hole inside you with God - something will fill that void. And most often, the something that fills this hole in our lives… will be “me.”
You see, if God isn’t the one I worship my life will no longer be ruled by His standards. At that point it will all be about what I think is right or wrong. It will be all about ME as the measure of righteousness (everyone is compared to my self-righteousness). It will all be about a shifting set of morality based upon what benefits ME and pleases ME
ILLUS: Recently, two of the top three politicians in Virginia have been pressured to resign. Why? Because 20 or 30 years ago they were in college and appeared in photos where their faces were blackened to make them look like black folk. At the time THEY thought it was OK to mock black people this way. But now, it’s NOT OK! The shifting sands of morality have moved under their feet and they’re in danger of losing their political office.
That’s what happens when we base our lives on what WE think is right/wrong rather than on what God says is right/wrong. Regarded bigotry, this is what God says: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
You see, we’re all made in the image of God. We all have one common set of ancestors (Adam and Eve). No matter what shade of color our skin is, we’re all related. Thus, there’s no room for bigotry for the child of God. We have a Spanish worship here and a Burmese worship here and I’m going to tell you – if I ever hear anyone talk down about them or about anyone else based on their race or color, I’m going to be all over them like ticks on a dog. This is something we can NOT allow as Christians.
Shortly after the Civil War, someone wrote a cute little children’s song that goes this way: “Jesus loves the little children . All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
It’s been a popular Christian song for decades. It’s a great song because that’s EXACTLY what God’s attitude is, and always has been.
But you see, here’s the deal: our praises acknowledge that God is bigger than we are and that we need Him and that we realize how much He has blessed us. Our praises to God ARE NOT required because God is egotistical and self-centered. Oh no. Our praise to God is required of us because - if we don’t do it, then WE will become egotistical and self-centered.
CLOSE: There’s a story in the Gospels that illustrates this perfectly. Luke 7 tells of a time early in Jesus’ ministry where He has begun to become popular. It seems that everywhere He goes; people flock to hear Him and be healed by Him. He’s loved by everyone… except the Pharisees. The Pharisees hate Him. And they’ve done everything they can think of to destroy Him – but nothing seems to be working. But then, a Pharisee named Simon thinks he has an idea. He invites Jesus to his home for a great banquet and invites all kinds of people there to meet Him. At first glance you’d think Simon was trying to honor Jesus… but that wasn’t the plan. From the moment Jesus arrives at Simon’s home, Simon does everything he can to insult Christ. He refuses to wash Jesus’ feet (a common courtesy for guests), refuses to anoint His head or even greet Him with a kiss. These would be expected ways of greeting an honored guest. But Simon was deliberately snubbing Jesus in hopes of goaded Him into an indiscreet comment that he could use against Jesus. But Jesus isn’t falling into his trap… and Simon is frustrated.
But then, a woman enters the room. She wasn’t invited. In fact, she would never have been invited a place of honor in that city. She was a prostitute. Everybody in town knew she was prostitute… and even if you hadn’t, you’d have known her by the vial of perfume show wore around her neck. In an age when folks didn’t bathe regularly, the perfume would have made her “business” smell a little sweeter.
Why had she come? I suspect she’d heard of this rabbi and merely wanted to see Him. He’d have been one of the celebrities of the age. I believe she merely wanted to see Him and then slip quietly out the backdoor before anybody was the wiser. But when she gets close to Him, something shakes her. There was something about being this close to Jesus that overwhelmed her. I believe she sensed how pure and righteous Jesus was… and suddenly she realized how sinful and shabby she was by comparison, and she began to weep. Her tears have streaked the unwashed feet of Jesus and now she’s so ashamed that she kneels down at His feet, anoints His feet with her perfume and dries them with her hair.
Now Simon has been watching this little drama unfold, and I can see him… smile. “Gotcha… I’ve gotcha Jesus!This man claims to be a prophet, but He doesn’t even know who this woman is!” All Simon has to do to destroy Jesus is destroy this woman - to expose her for what she is in front of all of his guests.
Now Jesus can handle insults. He’s been insulted by better people than Simon. But He will NOT allow this woman to be treated like that. And with the skill of surgeon Jesus begins to cut away at the hypocrisy of this arrogant Pharisee.
Jesus says: “Simon, I have something to tell you.” Simon responds: “What is it you want to tell me (pause) teacher.” And Jesus tells his story. “There were once 2 men who owed moneylender a great deal of money. One owed about $50,000. Another owed about $5,000 (the text speaks of denarii, but I took the liberty of describing their debts in current monetary values). Neither of these debtors could repay their debt, and so the money lender – thinking to cut his losses - cancelled the debt of both. Now, Simon, which would love the moneylender more?"
Simon just couldn’t help himself. He’s a good Pharisee and he just couldn’t help showing his wisdom to this upstart teacher. So he responded “I suppose the one who owed the most – loved the most.”
Jesus responded: “Well said Simon, you have judged correctly.”
Then Jesus literally turned His back on Simon and faced the woman. He turned away from the judgmental, self-righteousness of the Pharisee toward the simple repentance of this woman who had truly worshipped Him. In Luke 7:44-50 we’re told the rest of the story: “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head but she has poured perfume on my feet.
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-- for she loved much.”
And then Jesus rebukes Simon with these words: “But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” You see, Simon was a good Pharisee. He didn’t think he needed much forgiving because he was “righteous man. He didn’t love much, because he’d ever felt he needed forgiving much.
Now, here’s the key to this whole sermon: I struggled all week trying trying to understand the difference between those who show up on Sunday’s and just put in their time – they sing the songs, they pray the prayers, they listen to the sermon… but they’re not really “worshiping God” - and those who truly worship God the way He desires. And I realize it all came down to this – he who has been forgiven much, loves much. Those who realize how little they deserve the forgiveness and mercy of God are the ones who are most likely to “cover God with their love” in their praises and singing and worship.
But unless you belong to Jesus, it doesn’t matter how much you praise or sing or thank God. For your worship to matter, you must first belong to Christ.
INVITATION
Footnote: There is some question as to whether this story about “Lucky” is true or not. Some on the internet have even labeled it an “urban legend.” That's possible - we never read about Mary and Jim’s last name and in my research I have yet to find an original source for the story.
However, there are a few reasons I used it. First, it really doesn’t have the earmarks of an “urban legend.” Such legends are intended to spread lies about companies or individuals, or to frighten people with stories of potential danger. By contrast, if this story is not true, it is a well-crafted tale designed to encourage and inspire.
Second, the story set the stage for what I saw in the sermon – the idea of covering God with our love in worship.
Third, and most important, the story was believable. It is plausible that this was a true story because the behavior attributed to Lucky has been observed by others in their pets. Following the sermon a man approached me and explained that his wife (who’d died a year ago) had had a similar experience with one of their cats. The cat really didn’t like Pam (his wife), but after her first chemo treatment the cat would sit with her, sleep with her, and follow her all over the house. “And guess what the cat’s name was?” the man asked. He paused and then smiled: “Lucky.”
