THE BENEFITS OF TRUE WORSHIP
Matt. 15:21-28 (verse 25)
Worship is important to God. Therefore it also should be important to us as well. One of life’s greatest questions is “What is my main purpose in life?” Why am I here? Solomon, considered to be one of the wisest men of his time, wrote the book of Ecclesiastes and in this book, that is one of the main themes he addresses. He said in Ecclesiastes 2:10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. Here was a man that basically had it all, all of the things that people literally work themselves to a frazzle over, and he essentially said that it wasn’t worth it. After it was all said and done, it still left him empty (vanity). People today get caught up in working themselves sick, hospitals are filled with those who are wearing themselves out, but deep down, they know that it is not bringing them satisfaction. Finally Solomon begins to close out the book of Ecclesiastes with these words, Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word Solomon uses for fear is the word yare’ {yaw-ray’} which means to fear, revere, be afraid, to stand in awe of, reverence, honor, respect. That sounds a lot like worship to me. I believe that Solomon is saying that we will only find true satisfaction in our lives as we tend to worship and fear God fully. Warren W. Wiersbe, former pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago, and now a teacher with the “Back to the Bible” radio broadcast wrote in his book, The Integrity Crisis, and said, “True biblical worship so satisfies our total personality that we don’t have to shop around for man-made substitutes.” Two weeks ago, I mentioned the story of the woman at the well. Jesus told this woman that God is seeking for worshippers. John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. The Greek word used here for seek is zeteo {dzay-teh’-o}seek for, desire, or to demand. God is looking for and demanding true, sincere worship. If we fail to worship God, not only in the local congregation, but I believe also privately as well, we are not walking in obedience to the desires of our Lord.
Two weeks ago, God laid a message on my heart, entitled “The Approach to Worship”. You might remember that I said that worship begins a long time before we ever enter into this building. We must have a right relationship with the Lord, it must include a respectful reverence, and it must have a relevant response, of opening up our hearts totally to the Lord. Today I want to preach on the benefits of worship. In Matthew 15, we find a Canaanite woman, not even a Jew, who came to Jesus in her need and was seemingly rebuffed. Note that she then began to worship. The Bible says that she came and worshipped Him. There are several benefits or blessings that this scripture points out regarding what happens when we worship the Lord.
I. WORSHIP AIDS US IN EXPERIENCING THE REALITY OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
1. Note that she had came to Jesus to present her request. When it appeared to not be answered, the Bible says that “then came she and worshipped”. The insinuation is that she drew nearer to the Lord Jesus Christ as she worshipped. Mark’s Gospel tells us in Mark 7:25 that she came and fell down at His feet.
2. One thing that we must understand is that true worship is encounter, encounter with a Holy God.
3. We know that God is omnipresent. This simply means that God is everywhere. The psalmist David realized this and he wrote under the hand of the Holy Spirit these words;
Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
4. However, just because God is there, it doesn’t mean that we always experience the reality of His presence. Many times we are like Jacob as he slept with a stone for a pillow who awakened and said, “surely the presence of the Lord was in this place and I knew it not” (Gen. 28:16). God is there but we’re not always aware of that fact.
5. However, when we begin to praise and worship the Lord, the Holy Spirit begins to work within our hearts and we become more aware of the presence of the Lord.
6. This Canaanite woman was not raised as a Jew. She probably did not know all the requirements of the law of Moses, she was probably not well versed in the rites of the temple, since she was a Gentile. However, she had a need. We are told that her daughter was vexed by a devil. We are not told how she heard about Jesus, perhaps a neighbor, or a family member told her about someone who was a healer that was making waves in Israel. Somehow she heard about a man who was doing marvelous things, so she, being desperate, left her home and her vexed daughter when she heard that Jesus was close by to beg for His help. That sounds a lot like us doesn’t it? How many times have we came to church with a great need, because either ourselves or someone we love is vexed by the devil? She was desperate so against hope, she came hoping. When she first came to Jesus, she presented her request and called Him by His Messianic name, the Son of David. Now there were many Jews who believed that the Messiah would come but they did not understand that He would be God, the Son of God. They felt that he would be a great king like Cyrus (called by Isaiah the anointed, or the messiah), or that he would be a great warrior. However when the Messiah came, He was more than just a great king or a warrior, He was God. There was something that happened as this Canaanite woman talked with Jesus. I believe that she began to realize there was more to Him than just a man for she began to worship. As she worshipped, she drew close to Him, she realized that she was in the presence of God. She was encountering a Holy God.
7. If we truly want to sense the presence of God in this place, we need to begin to truly worship Him. Now He is here, first He is omnipresent, second, Jesus promised that when two or three believers gather in His name that He would be there with them (Matt. 18:20). For us to experience the reality of His presence, we need to worship Him, we need to draw close to Him through our worship.
8. Remember what the Psalmist David said of the Lord, He inhabits the praises of Israel. He lives in their praise. God lives in praise. When we begin to worship and praise the Lord, God dwells in our praise.
Psalm 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
II. WORSHIP AIDS BY ELEVATING US ABOVE THE REALM OF OUR PROBLEMS.
1. How many times do we drag into the house of God, drag through the worship service, and drag out the door at the close of service and then complain that we didn’t get anything out of it? Maybe it was because we didn’t put anything into it. If we are not willing to worship, then we are not going to get very much out of it.
2. One of the reasons why our problems often look so large is because we stand underneath them. When we worship the Lord, God lifts us up to His level and we can then look down on them and see that they are not as large as first seemed.
Psalm 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
3. David says here that he wants to stay in the house of the Lord. What do you do in the house of the Lord, you worship. David was a worshipper, his life was characterized by worship. Even though Solomon built the Temple, it David that organized the plans for it and organized the worship that was carried out in the Temple. David desires to behold the beauty of the Lord, that’s encounter. But then note what David says in verse 5.
Psalms 27: 5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
4. In the day of his problems, in the day of his troubles, as he worships in the house of God, the Lord hides him, and note that David said that the Lord sets him up upon a rock. David uses the Hebrew word ~Wr ruwm {room} which means to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted, to be lifted up. David says that God hides him in the pavilion, the tabernacle, the place of worship, and lifts him up, elevates him above his troubles. David essentially said the same thing in Psalms 61.
Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
5. This Canaanite woman had a problem, a daughter vexed by the devil, but as she was in the presence of the Lord of glory, she began to worship and the Lord elevated her by allowing to come closer to Him. She was in the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, she for just a moment, allowed her troubles to dim in the presence of the Son of God. How do I know that? You can’t worship if you are focusing upon problems and troubles. She realized that this was more than a man, this was more than a teacher, this was more than a healer, this was God and she focused upon Him and I believe she was elevated.
6. Today many of you are burdened down with your troubles and problems. You need an encounter with a holy God, you need to be elevated above your troubles, you need to be set on a rock that is higher than you are. That will only happen as you praise the Lord.
7. You see, worship and praise are actions of faith. It is easy to praise and worship when things are going well, but it requires faith to worship in the midst of your troubles. Jesus commended this woman for her great faith for it was a faith that worships in troubles and that type of faith God honors by elevating us to a higher level.
8. We are told in the book of Job, that when Job heard all the bad news that he worshipped.
Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
9. Job is known for his faith. He did not receive all the answers to the questions that he asked, but he knew that God was still worthy to be worshipped.
III. WORSHIP AIDS IN ENERGIZING US TO RECEIVE THE PROMISES OF GOD.
1. Remember that this woman was a Canaanite who was at first was seemingly rebuffed by Jesus. The Bible says that when she first came, Jesus answered her not a word. Then in verse 26, Jesus made reference to her as being a dog. “It was not meant to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.”
This comes from the vernacular, or the language of the Jews who referred to all Gentiles as “dogs” as a term of insult.
2. Anyway that you look at it, essentially Jesus hurled an insult at this woman. Most of us would get mad, and say, “Well, I’m going back home, I don’t need this.” Some of you are going to say, why would Jesus do this? I believe He was proving her faith. If you are focusing on your self and you hear what Jesus said to this woman, you are going to get puffed up and mad. However if your focus is entirely upon God, you’re not going to care. That might be one of the reasons why we feud and fight so much in churches today, is because we are not focused on Jesus.
3. The story is told of about the Italian poet Dante Alighieri who was deeply immersed in meditation during a church service, so much so that he failed to kneel at the appropriate moment. His enemies hurried to the bishop and demanded that Dante be punished for his sacrilege. Dante defended himself by saying, "If those who accuse me had had their eyes and minds on God, as I had, they too would have failed to notice events around them, and they most certainly would not have noticed what I was doing."
4. This woman was a worshipper, she was focused on Jesus and it didn’t even faze her. Now I don’t know how much she knew about God, but I believe she must have known something. Most Jews felt that the Messiah would only be for the Jews. However, that was not a true scriptural view. Abraham’s seed was to be a blessing to the whole world. Isaiah is often described as the Messianic prophet and listen to what he says.
Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Isaiah 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
5. There were promises given to the Gentiles and this woman was energized so that she could receive what Jesus had for her. She replied that even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from the table and I’m here to receive my crumb. I’m a worshipper and I believe that Lord, You have something for me. I’m focused on You and not my problem.
6. Worship enables us to receive the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
7. Paul and Silas were in prison at the midnight hour and they worshipped and God delivered. When we worship, we realize that we encounter Someone or something greater than ourselves Who is able. Who is able to do exceeding and abundantly above all that we ask or think. Not only does it require faith to worship in adverse circumstances, but worship will energize the faith that you have. As you focus on the Lord, other things will grow strangely dim. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, sitting upon the throne (Isa. 6:1-6).
8. Remember that I said that worship, true worship comes from a heart overflowing with love. I’m going to say something that goes against a lot of popular teaching today, and that is that there is something I believe that God honors more than a life of faith, and that is a heart of love. I believe that God honors faith, but I believe that He honors love more. Remember the story of Mary, who after the crucifixion, came to the tomb to mourn and anoint the body of Jesus. She didn’t come expecting Him to be alive, she came because she had a heart of love and worship overflowing for the One who had changed her life. Her faith had to be low. When she found the tomb empty, she turned around and saw Jesus, not really recognizing Him. She asked if He had carried away the body of the Lord. Her heart was filled with love, so much that she came seeking her Savior, even if He was dead. Jesus recognized her love and worship and just said one word, He called her by name, and through her loving and worshipping heart, her faith was energized and she recognized her Lord. God will honor your loving, sincere worship too today.
