MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER CENTRAL CHRISTIAN, BROWNSVILLE, TX
A. I want to call your attention to something about the church bulletin you received as you came in this morning. On the front, centered just below the red masthead are these words, “Morning Worship Service, September 20, 1998.”
Now if people, say from Asia or Africa, who know nothing at all about Christ or the church were to ask the average Christian, “What is a worship service?” what kind of answers do you suppose they would receive?
Someone might answer, “Well, it’s kind of a boring hour that just seems to drag on & on every Sunday. In it we sing 100-year-old hymns we’ve sung so much that we don’t even think about the words anymore. But I go anyway because I’m afraid that if I don’t go I may not get enough brownie points with God to make it into heaven.” Do you suppose anybody would answer like that?
Someone else may say, “Well, in the church I go to they spend a lot of time singing songs & choruses that I don’t relate to much at all. I don’t know them, & I don’t like the way they sing them. They’re just too new & lively for me. O, I know a lot of people seem to enjoy them, & I put up with them because that’s what our church does. But I don’t like it at all!”
Someone else with an entirely different background may say, “Why are you so worked up over the music? I think that the real worship service is when people are healed of diseases. People come who are sick & they leave healed. That’s when real worship takes place.”
Frankly, folks, there are some people who would say, “I think real worship is when you prove your faith by handling poisonous snakes.” Have you seen pictures of church services like that?
ILL. That reminds me of a story about a guy who inadvertently ended up visiting a snake handling church. They met in an old one-room church building in the backwoods of Arkansas. He didn’t realize what he was into until the minister started pulling rattlesnakes out of a burlap bag & passing them up one side of the aisle & down the other. The man had never seen anything like this before, & he certainly wasn’t interested in somebody handing him a snake at all!
Frantically, he began turning one way & then another, looking for a way out. But the only exit he could see was up past where the preacher was passing out the snakes. Turning to the guy next to him he asked, “Where Is the back door? I’ve got to get out of here!” The man answered, “We ain’t got one.” So he asked, “Alright then, where would you like one?”
B. Now folks, I’m not all that concerned this morning about worship styles as I am about what is really worship. Let me read to you Vine’s Expository Dictionary’s definition of “worship.” It says, “Worship is the direct acknowledgement to God of His nature, attributes, ways, & claims, whether by the ongoing of the heart in praise & thanksgiving, or by the deeds done through acknowledging God.”
Let me simplify that a bit. “Worship is acknowledging God for who & what He is, & praising Him by both our lips & our lives.”
PROP. Now this morning I want you to see with me the ways we worship God.
I. WE WORSHIP THE LORD PUBLICLY THROUGH ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
Here’s the first one, “We worship the Lord publicly through active participation.” We do that in a couple of ways.
A. First of all, your very presence here this morning says to your family, neighbors, & friends,
that God is so important to you that you’ll get out of bed, put aside everything else, & come to church so that you can join with other people & worship Him together. Your attendance is a public witness to others.
ILL. And as people see our parking lot & church building being expanded that gives us other opportunities to witness to those who ask about what’s going on with our church. We’ll have opportunities to say, “Here’s what’s happening, & here is what’s God is doing in our lives.”
Crowded classrooms & filled parking lots can be acts of worship & witness for God as we acknowledge who He is & what He means to us by our attendance.
The Psalmist says, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness”
The writer of Hebrews says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - & all the more as you see the Day (capital “D”) approaching” [Hebrews 10:25].
There is a “D” day that is coming, when God is going to come back again. And as we see that day approaching we need to encourage each other through our worship even more.
B. Now we also worship publicly through our attitudes. Do you realize that as you come into
the church building that your attitude, your facial expression, the words you speak, your gestures, all of that influences other people? Everybody around you will be influenced by what you do & what you say & how you act.
ILL. Ann Ortmann writes these words, “Earnestness must show. When you pray, pray. When you listen, listen. A guy can turn his head to gaze admiringly at his girl, & wash worship down the drain for 20 people sitting behind him. Or, he can turn his head & nod at his girl a confirmation of a point in the sermon, & behind him 20 hearts will be blessed.”
APPL. Have you ever thought about that? The way you worship, or don’t worship, will affect the people around you.
Now I do realize that one of the problems when we worship together is that we have different preferences. Some may prefer to worship one way, & others in another. What may inspire me & draw me closer to God may not inspire you at all. You may think, “I really like this!” while I’m thinking, “I really don’t care for this much at all!”
But that’s okay. We don’t all have to react the same way to the same things. It’s okay to acknowledge to someone else, “That really blessed me” or “that didn’t” as long as you don’t do it in a critical spirit.
You see, there is something very important for us to remember about our worship together – we’re not the audience. We’re the worshippers. God is the audience. Our worship is not supposed to be directed toward us, but toward God. So is God being blessed by what you’re doing & how you’re feeling? Is God applauding your worship today?
So as we leave the worship service we need to examine ourselves & ask, “How was my worship today? Did God like the way I worshipped Him? Did He get my best effort? Did I give Him my all? Did I really worship the Lord?”
Let me ask you, “How well are you worshipping the Lord today in your attitudes, your facial expressions, your gestures? When you sat down, did you greet people warmly around you? When we prayed together, did you pray? When people listen, do you listen? As you leave are you going to be hurriedly rushing your way out of here, or will you be graciously shaking hands & greeting people?” You see, all of this impacts our worship & makes a difference to God.
ILL. Tonight, during the evening worship time, a variety of activities will be going on in our church building. We’ll have two adult Bible study groups meeting in different parts of the building. There will be a children’s drama group meeting, a G.E.M.S. singing group practice time, several youth groups, & a youth-oriented worship service.
Now the youth worship service incorporates a praise band & enthusiastic singing at probably greater volume than you’re used to. It might not be the kind of music that you particularly enjoy, but I hope you’ll praise the Lord & support them & encourage them because you love the kids so much & you’re thrilled that they are reaching out to others for Christ in such a tremendous way.
By the way, did you realize that of the 91 present last Sunday evening that 2/3rds of them were involved in the youth service? I praise God & expect great things from them!
II. WE WORSHIP HIM PRIVATELY THROUGH PERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Now here is the second way we worship the Lord. We worship Him privately & personally. . Worship is a 2-way street. So what I would encourage you to do as you begin to mature in your faith, if you have not already done so, is to establish a personal time of worship in which you read the Word & listen to God.
And if you have never done that, or if you have done that & it has grown stale with you, let me give you a formula that I think would help you in your private time of worship. It consists of 4 words to remember:
A. The first word is “adoration.” I’m convinced the first thing we need to do when we worship God is to adore Him, just to be in His presence & say, “Lord, I enter in & I glorify your name. I love you, God.”
You know, as a father & a grandfather, I like to hear my children & grandchildren say, “I love you, dad,” or “I love you, granddad.” Now if I like that as a human father, don’t you think that our Heavenly Father wants to hear that once in a while, too? “I admire you for who you are. I praise you for your holiness & your righteousness. I thank you for always keeping your promises & providing for me everything that I need.” That’s the best way I know to begin your worship.
B. The second word is “confession.” Now this probably ought to take the most of our
personal worship time because we have so much to talk to God about. But it is a hard time, so usually it becomes the briefest time of our worship because, frankly, it is a little bit difficult to talk about all the mistakes & failures in our lives.
So confession time is a tough time, when you come to God & say, “I made a mistake. I didn’t do it right. Please forgive me.”
C. The third word is “thanksgiving..” Make a list of all the things you are thankful for.
“My fingers move. My mind thinks. My eyes see. My ears hear. God has given me food to eat today, & shelter in the storm. He has given me people who love me, & people whom I love.” There needs to be a time of thanksgiving.
D. The fourth word is “supplication.” That’s a big religious word that simply means “to
ask.” Jesus said, “When you pray, say `Give us this day our daily bread.” So I ask for the things that I need – & then I ask in behalf of others.
If someone is sick, I ask for their healing. If someone is lost, I ask for their salvation. If someone is in trouble, I ask for God to intervene & to help them through that troubled time. And that is simply what supplication means.
ILL. Paul Harvey told about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask."
She put him up in the cart & he sat in the little child’s seat while she wheeled down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. He saw the chocolate chip cookies & he stood up in the seat & said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any at all.” So he sat back down.
They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle. “Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you that you can’t have any. Now sit down & be quiet.”
Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane. The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance. So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart & shouted in his loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?” And everybody round about just laughed. Some even applauded. And, according to Paul Harvey, due to the generosity of the other shoppers, the little boy & his mother left with 23 boxes of chocolate chip cookies.
Now the methodology may not be the best, but the theology is okay. God says, “Ask!” In fact, Jesus says in Matthew 7:7, “Ask & it will be given to you; seek & you will find; knock & the door will be opened to you.”
And you’re sitting out there thinking, “Okay, God, I’m asking. When are you going to perform? When are you going to do what I’m asking you to do?”
Remember, God’s ways are not our ways, & His time schedule is not the same as ours. Sometimes you may ask & it will be put off for a little while. But that’s okay. Just keep on asking.
ILL. A preacher friend of mine went to a new Applebees in his city a few years ago with a friend of his. The waitress came & took their order. Then she put a little stop watch on the table, pushed the knob, & it started running. My friend asked, “What’s that for?”
She answered, “Well, we have this special deal going. If we don’t get your lunch to you in 10 minutes you lunch will be free.” He said, “You’re kidding?” “No,” she said. “If I’m not back here in 10 minutes your lunch is free.”
My preacher friend became so engrossed with the stop watch ticking away that he wasn’t even able to listen to what his friend had to say. He thought, “There is no free lunch, but I may get a free lunch today.” so he was really watching the stop watch.
Five minutes passed, then 6, & there was no lunch yet. Then it was 7 minutes, then 8 minutes. Then 9, & it was approaching the zero hour. He kept watching for the waitress as the seconds were ticking off. Finally she came around the corner with their order & put it down. And it was 10 minutes & 15 seconds. He said, “Look there.” She said, “You’re right. You don’t have to pay for this lunch.”
I wonder, how many times do we treat God like that? We start the stop watch & we say, “God, if you don’t perform in 10 minutes or 15 minutes I’m out of here. I’ve had it with you.”
SUM. God’s time schedule is not the same as ours. So you worship Him. That’s the act of worship. We’ve just spelled out the word “acts” – adore, confession, thanksgiving, & suplication.
III. WE WORSHIP THE LORD CONSISTENTLY THROUGH OUR LIFESTYLE
Now here’s the third one., “We worship the Lord consistently through our lifestyle.”
Paul says in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer
your bodies as living sacrifices, holy & pleasing to God…” Paul goes on to say that this is your act of worship, your spiritual act of worship by offering your body back to God, by offering the acts, the deeds, whatever you do – that’s what the definition said when we first started.
It says, “Whatever I do all day long – the way I react in traffic, the way I respond to my boss at work, the way I treat the waitress in the restaurant, the way I respond to my family members – all of that is an act of worship as I give my body back to God, as I obey Him, as I swim upstream, as I become this person who has been changed & transformed by the amazing grace of God. And that becomes my act of worship.
So every day, as I live my life consistently in the Word, I am worshipping God in what I do.
ILL. In 1 Samuel 15 there is an amazing story about King Saul. He is told by God, when he captures & defeats the Amalekites, to destroy everything. And Saul does, except he keeps the best sheep & the best cattle because he is going to offer them back to God as a sacrifice. He thinks that’s a good thing to do.
But Samuel comes & condemns him because he didn’t obey God. “But I did!” King Saul said. “All I kept is the perfect sheep & the perfect cattle to offer them as a sacrifice back to God.
Then there is this amazing verse in 1 Samuel 15:22 that says, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings & sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice…”
What God is saying is, “Come to Church, worship publicly, go to your prayer closet & worship personally & communicate with God, but to obey God every day is better than all the sacrifices that you could ever offer.” Worship Him through your deeds. And as you consistently live the Christian life, that’s when you really get close to God as your friend, & your constant companion.
ILL. Dennis Slaughter was talking one day about Christopher, one of his twin grandsons. It seems that one day Christopher fell & hit his head on the corner bricks of the fireplace while playing in the living room. It made a nasty gash in his head & his father, who was home alone with the 4 kids, bundled them all up & rushed to the emergency room of the hospital.
From the hospital the young father called his parents & said, “I’m here in the hospital with Christopher. Could you please come & help? So Dennis & Violet went over to the hospital & got the other 3 kids & put them to bed. Meanwhile, Christopher was getting stitches in the back of his neck.
Well, it was painful & he was crying & there was blood & all this. But afterwards, he discovered that there were a lot of benefits to having a cut. I mean, you get a lot of extra attention. When he came home, grandma took him home because he wasn’t supposed to go to school the next day. And he got her undivided attention for the next 24 hours. And he loved it. He loved every moment of that.
When the kids came home from school the next day, Jonathan was particularly ornery. They couldn’t figure out why. Now Jonathan could be ornery if he wanted to be, but he was particularly ornery on this occasion. I mean, just hard to live with. Finally they asked him, “Jonathan, what’s wrong with you?”
He answered, “Well, I guess I’m just going to have to cut my neck & get stitches before I get anybody’s attention.”
Sometimes, you just want someone to hold you, don’t you? Sometimes you just want someone to say, “It’s okay. You’ve made mistakes & you’ve got cuts & bruises & scratches. But I love you anyway.” And God wants to do that. And His love is big enough to spread over all of us. You don’t have to wait in line. He’ll love you, & He wants you to love Him back.
That’s what worship really is. It is just saying, “God, I love you.” And receiving the individual attention that He wants to give to each one of us.
How about it? Are you ready for that? Are you ready to grow in worship? Let’s not let it be a controversial thing, but something that draws us all together as a family of God as we worship Him in spirit & truth.
If you’re here this morning & you’re not a Christian, we want to extend to you the opportunity to come to Jesus, accept Him as your Lord & Savior. Will you come as we stand & sing?
