“Come and Worship”
January 19, 2020
Luke 4:1-8
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
Deuteronomy 6:3-18
Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.”
This morning I want to talk about something you are very familiar with. It is something you probably have done most of your life. It is something that people all over the world are doing. It is worshipping.
Now, you probably think you know all about this subject – but the Jewish people didn’t. The followers of Jesus’ day didn’t. I think most people in our day do not have a correct understanding of the subject either. Our hymnals are called “Praise and Worship”. Most churches call this period of time on Sunday morning, the “Worship Service”. But I fear many – even most – get it all wrong. So I want to take a look at this familiar subject and see what God has to say about it.
First of all, you need to understand that is a command; it is a requirement. Jesus, when the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness was tempted by Satan to worship the wrong thing. Listen,
“The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Luke 4:5-8
Last week I used this Scripture as an illustration of ‘looking ahead’. This morning I want to use it in a different context. I want you to see Jesus’ response. “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
He was quoting Duet 6:13. It says, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only…”
The context of that Scripture is the Great Command. Jesus was to use it later in response to the question of what was the greatest command in the Scriptures. When asked - He quoted this one – to love God with all your heart, soul and strength. But first, He used it to establish that fact that we are to worship God ONLY. God desires and requires our worship. The first thing I want you to understand this morning is that God desires; requires; commands; demands worship.
Do you remember just a week before Jesus’ death He experienced the people worshipping Him. We call that “The Triumphant Entry” into Jerusalem. Today we celebrate it as Palm Sunday because part of the worship was to lay palm tree branches in Jesus’ path in honor of Him. The religious people of His day didn’t like the people worshipping Him and they told Jesus to make them stop. Do you remember His response? He said,
“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Luke 19:39-40
Jesus must be worshipped. He is the Great Creator. He is God Almighty. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is our Savior. He must be worshipped! He WILL be worshipped. Right now in heaven the angels are in worship. The heavens declare the glory of God. The entire creation reveals God – even His invisible qualities, His power and Devine nature. (Romans 1:20) On earth many willing hearts are worshipping. One day, the Scriptures tell us, EVERY knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Every soul will bow in worship to the King of kings.
God requires our worship. The Scripture says,
“You shall have no other god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.” Psalm 81
“You shall have no other gods besides me.” Exodus 20:3
The very first commandment is to have no other gods other than Jehovah God. He alone are we to worship. He commands it.
I want you to understand, secondly, that 2. Worship is a choice. God commands that we worship Him only. He wouldn’t say that unless we had a choice about it. Look at these Scriptures.
“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14
“When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
2 Kings 17:35-39
“With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.” Psalm 109:30
Do you see that we have God’s will; God’s desire – and we have a choice about it. We can worship or not. It’s our choice. Nobody can make you worship. It is a personal choice. Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were ordered to worship another god. They wouldn’t do it though it meant their life if they refused. In spite of tremendous pressure they would not bow down. Worship is a choice. Just because you are a Christian does not mean you worship. Just because you are in a Church does not mean you are a worshipper. Even if you hop and skip and jump a pew does not mean you are worshipping. Some people speak in tongues and pray loud and eloquent prayers and are very demonstrative and still aren’t worshipping. Worship is a personal choice. We have to choose to worship our Savior and God. Going through the motions is not good enough. Emotions may or may not be involved because worship is an act of the will. It is a choice.
The Bible tells us 3, that we are to worship at a certain time and place. Hear the Word of the Lord on this subject.
“This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.” Jeremiah 26:2
“On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway.”
Ezekiel 46:3
“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
Notice that we are to worship at a particular place and at a particular place. In the Old Covenant it was at the Temple on the Sabbath – or Saturday. Under the New Covenant that Jesus instituted, it was on the Lord’s Day – or Sunday. Under both it was to be with others. Worship is a collective act. We are to encourage others and pray with them and sing songs of praise and worship. Personally, I don’t think God cares so much on what day you worship – but that you truly worship. God’s Words says,
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Colossians 2:16-17
God looks at the thoughts and the intent of the heart. Worship is not a matter of rules and regulations – although there are those – but more importantly is the heart. The heart of worship is what it is all about.
That brings us to the fourth point. Worship 4. Must be from a pure heart. God’s Word says,
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1
True and proper worship is from a holy heart; a heart that is fully surrendered and pleasing to God. We, in our church, are sometimes accused of thinking we need to be perfect. That’s foolish. No one is perfect in their actions, but we should have a perfection of heart. We should be holy and pleasing to God. Jesus said,
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matt 5:48
This perfection Jesus speaks of is a perfection of heart; a perfection of love. It is a choice, enable by the Holy Spirit to love the unlovable. That’s how God loves and that’s how we can and should love empowered by the Spirit. Worship is only possible from a pure and surrendered heart.
“The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”
Isaiah 29:13
“a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24
“Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness…” Psalm 96:9
Worship is only possible with a pure heart; with a holy heart.
Lastly, let’s look at what is involved in true worship. As we come to the Lord to worship with a pure heart, 5. We come with gratitude and gratefulness.
“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:2,4
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:18-20
Can you be filled with spirits and be filled with the Holy Spirit? I don’t think so. Worship must come from a clear and pure heart. We are to worship with gladness and come before Him with joyful songs. We are to have an attitude of gratitude. It is God’s will that we come before Him in worship rejoicing and thankful. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord – and give thanks for everything. That is faith in action.
God desires your worship. He loves you and wants you to love Him in return. Worship is an expression of our love for Him. Let’s choose to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
