Developing a Passion for Honoring God
Various Scriptures
January 16, 2005
Introduction
We are starting a series about developing a passion for the things of God. We will be spending the next several weeks discussing this, and then we will be looking at the passion of Jesus during the Lenten season, in conjunction with our showing of The Passion of the Christ.
Today we’re going to be talking about developing a passion for honoring God. And this is important, because when we are honoring God, we are worshiping Him.
I want to share four keys to developing a passion for honoring and worshiping God.
The word "keys" sounds so "positive mental attitude-ish," doesn’t it? Or maybe like I’ve got some hidden wisdom or something. But let me assure you I don’t think that highly of myself.
I’m just going to be sharing with you some stuff that I have learned from studying the Scriptures and applying them to my own life, as well as what I’ve seen in the lives of others who live for honoring and worshiping God.
My hope is that you’ll hear something today that will give you a desire to really be a worshiper of God all the way, all the time.
Let’s look at each of these okay? The first key to developing a passion for honoring God and worshiping him is to...
1. Make time for the Bible and prayer.
"C’mon, PB!! Move on, why don’tcha? You say this all the time! Get a new record, okay?"
Let me tell you a story. One time a new pastor came to a church, and he preached a sermon that the people just loved. It was perfect in that it discussed just the right things.
The next week he preached the same sermon, and while the congregation enjoyed it, they were a little confused that he gave the same sermon twice.
The following week he preached the same sermon yet again. This time the people moved from confusion to concern about why this guy kept repeating himself week after week.
Guess what happened the next week? That’s right - he preached the same sermon. This time the people started getting a bit miffed.
After the service, the leaders came up to him and told him they would like him to preach about something different next week.
He said, "When you start living THIS sermon, I’ll preach about something else." (Source unknown)
Well, I’m not quite there yet, but you can believe that I’ll be beating this drum over and over.
And even if everyone in this room started doing this to the fullest possible extent from this moment on, there will be others who will need to hear it, and so I’ll continue to harp on it.
Folks, this cannot be stressed enough! No one here is spending all the time they really could in the Bible and prayer.
But some of you probably aren’t spending any time in the Bible and prayer. And you need to get off the stick!
Psalm 119:16 -
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
By the way, if everyone here would spend more time in the word and prayer, I’m convinced that more people will show up here because they see what God is doing the lives of everyone here.
And then I’d end up just telling them the same thing I’m telling you here - make time for the Bible and prayer.
Am I saying that you should spend every waking moment reading the Bible and praying? Of course not! But I AM saying that if you want be a person who is more able to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then this is the way to get it going.
Folks, honoring God to the depths he deserves from the depths of our being is impossible outside time in God’s Word and conversing with him in prayer. It’s just that simple.
The shortest distance between two points is what? A straight line.
In the Christian life - an authentic, healthy relationship with God - the straight line is time in the Bible and prayer.
2. Cultivate a habit of prayer and thanks.
Psalm 63:1 -
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
This obviously relates to our last point, but I want to expand the point about prayer.
There are two main types of prayer. You know, I hate to say two main types, like there are only two.
I’m reminded of something one of my old bosses used to say - "There are three types of people: those who can count, and those who can’t."
But for our purposes, I want to point out two types of prayer, and I think you’ll catch where I’m going. The two types of prayer I want to discuss right now are planned prayer and unplanned prayer.
Wouldn’t you agree that most, if not all prayers can fit into one of those categories?
And what I want to focus on is the fact that we need to develop the habit of thanking and praising God.
Let’s look at these
* Planned.
This is easy to define: prayer when you plan to pray. Maybe it’s at church, during your quiet time, prayer with your spouse or children, family devotions, or whatever. You generally come with a plan, an agenda, or a prayer list.
This is a good thing, and it should be a part of every maturing Christian’s life. The danger lies, not in the planning, but in the execution. Many people plan to do this, but never get it done to any real degree. Others do it the same way every day, and there is little if any spontaneity. It becomes so routine that it has little effect on the life of the person doing the praying.
Because you gotta understand something. Prayer is not about changing God, hoping he’ll do your bidding.
Prayer is about changing YOU, in hopes that you will do HIS bidding. Have you thought about that lately?
Yes, we do pray in hopes that God will move and intervene, but he’s not our puppet on a string. We are HIS servants, not the other way around.
And while you may not think this way consciously, you might want to examine your prayer life to see if that’s how you actually think when it really comes down to it.
But let me get back on track: plan to pray. Plan to meet with God on a daily basis to discuss his word, confess your sins, pray for the health and well-being of others, for the salvation of those outside of Christ, and whatever. And pray that God would transform you into Christlikeness.
Let’s look now at...
* Unplanned.
Hey, did you know that you don’t have to have an appointment to pray to God?
You can pray whenever, wherever, about whatever.
How many of you pray while you’re driving? How many of the rest of you pray when they’re driving?
There’s the story of a pastor who died and went to heaven. He was told that he would be given a home in conjunction with the results they achieved on earth.
On their way to his home, they passed the glorious mansion of a man the pastor recognized as a taxi driver in the city he lived in on earth.
He figured that if a taxi driver would get such a palatial estate, then he was in for a great mansion!
Unfortunately for him, he was brought to a small shack.
"What’s up with this? I gave my life to my congregation, and served the Lord. Why is he in a mansion and I’m in a shack?"
St. Peter answered, "Well, when you preached, people slept. When he drove, people prayed."
You know, I find myself just going through my day a lot of times, and I’ll come across something that causes me to stop and give thanks to God about something. It doesn’t have to be much, but hey, it’s all from him anyway, right?
When was the last time you thanked God for your stove and refrigerator, so you don’t have to eat your meat raw?
When was the last time you thanked God for the hot water in your home? Or for gas stations that stay open late because you forgot to fill up the tank during the day?
Lot’s of time, when I’m driving, I begin to thank God for the landscape. I love the flatness of our land. I’m certainly not against mountains, but I’ve driven on slick mountain interstates during snow and ice storms, and I’m grateful that the drop off on our roads here isn’t quite as severe as in the Rocky Mountains, let me tell you!
And look - prayer is more than asking for things, even asking God to change you. Prayer includes confessing, thanksgiving, and praise. It might do you some good to evaluate from time to time to see if you are including these other elements.
One of the best ways to cultivate a habit of prayer is to make this third key for developing a passion for honoring and worshiping God a part of your life, and that is to...
3. Listen to Christian music.
Did you know we have about 7 Christian radio stations in our area? Five FM stations and two AM stations.
When I got here four years ago, there were basically two, then BOOM! And you can generally find one that fits your favorite music style and teaching programs.
I kinda like K-Love and Praise FM. My daughter prefers the Effect, a heavier Christian rock station. I enjoy it sometimes, too.
I’m not against "secular" radio. I listen to it mainly to get the latest news, but I am intentionally listening more to Christian radio. I like the teaching I hear, and the music oftentimes brings me to an attitude of worship as I listen to songs about the glory of God, his forgiveness, his love for me, and even the songs that challenge me to live more consistently for him.
Did you know that by and large you’re a product of what you bring into your brain? What you read, what you look at, what you listen to, who you listen to, and all that.
Christian radio is a great way to have all kinds of wonderful stuff about God, the Bible, and you brought to your brain in ways that help you think on the things of God.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’m driving down the road, and a song will come on that just ushers me into the presence of God, and it refreshes my soul, even during those times when I’m struggling with some person or circumstance.
One your way home today, check out Christian radio. Try listening to it all this week.
And you know what, if you can’t get it on the radio, you can get all sorts of Christian radio on the internet, if you have access to it.
Oh yeah - this isn’t in your outline, but another way to honor God this way is to get the Bible on tape or CD, and listen in your car.
So far we’ve looked at honoring and worship God by making time for the Bible and prayer, cultivating a habit of prayer and thanks, and by listening to Christian music.
The last key I want to offer you is to honor God in every area of your life. And I want to focus on three areas that pretty much cover every aspect of our lives.
4. Honor God in...
* Church.
Something happens in church that cannot happen in any other setting.
Hebrews 10:25 -
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Obviously you can worship outside of the church service. But there is just something special about when the Body of Christ comes together to lift up the name of Jesus and look at his word. Yes, Jesus is present when you are by yourself, but I think he’s present in a special way when his friends come together in worship.
As you read the history of the Israelites, and the early church, especially in the book of Acts, take note of what God did in the assembly of his children. It’s wonderful.
Honor God in worship, as you worship him in church.
Come to church anticipating to meet him! When you come with an anticipation of meeting God rather than with an attitude of duty, God can meet you in your spirit.
Come to church to interact with people and worship with fellow believers. It honors God.
We need to come to church expecting God to change us.
A parable is told of a community of ducks waddling off to duck church one Sunday to hear their duck preacher. After they waddled into the duck sanctuary, the service began and the duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly.
He pounded the pulpit with his beak and said, "With these wings, there is nowhere we ducks can not go! There is no God-given task we ducks cannot accomplish!
"With these wings we no longer need walk through life. We can soar high in the sky!"
Shouts of Amen!¨ were quacked throughout the duck congregation.
The duck preacher concluded his message by exclaiming, "With our wings we can fly through life! WE... CAN... FLY!!!!¨
More ducks quacked out loud AMENS! in response. Every duck loved the service.
In fact all the ducks that were present commented on what a wonderfully convicting message they had heard from their duck preacher...and then they left the church and waddled all the way home.
APPLICATION - Too often We waddle away from worship the same way we waddled in - unchanged. (SermonCentral.com. Contributed by: George Rennau )
Let your worship experience in church be a life-changing experience.
The second area in which we need to honor God is our...
* Home life.
Did you know that God wants you to honor him in your home?
He wants you to honor him in your family dealings. He wants you to honor him in what you do in the walls of your house.
Joshua 24:15 -
But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
You know, God doesn’t live in buildings. He doesn’t live in this building. He is present here, but his presence is not limited to this building.
Remember where God lives? He lives in you! God dwells in the hearts of his people. And you know what else? You can’t just shed him when you leave this building.
So that means he’s with you in your car, and he’s with you at home. So what you say and do in your home should be honoring to God.
He also wants you to honor him in your...
* Work.
You may have been expecting me to discuss the verse from Colossians that says -
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...
And that’s a great verse that deals with our topic, but I want to bring your attention to another passage.
Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 -
Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
Did you know that work is a gift from God? Some people think that work is a result of the curse God brought after Adam and Eve chomped on the fruit.
But look again and you’ll see that God had commanded Adam to work in the garden before the fall. Adam’s sin made the work harder, but it did not create the work itself.
Folks, if you can go to work tomorrow understanding that your job, your business, or whatever is a gift from God himself, you will have a better time at work.
And you know what? You’ll have a better attitude toward work. And when you have a better attitude at your job, you enjoy your work more, you do your job better, and you become a blessing to those around you on the job. You become a blessing to your boss, your co-workers, your customers, your suppliers, and whatever.
And guess what else? You honor God.
We could go, talking about honoring God in such areas as your finances, and your recreational time, but I think you get the idea that God wants to be honored in your life through and through. Not just here on Sunday mornings, but all week, in all areas.
If you’re serious about developing a passion for honoring and worshiping God, you need to let him have all these areas. You need to let him have all of you. You need to be a worshiper of God in all areas.
Because you see, worship isn’t just coming to church on Sunday, singing songs, praying, and listening to a message.
When you seek to honor God in your church, your home life, your work, your finances, your recreation, or whatever, these things become more than just the mundane details of life, they become acts of worship.
Become a worshiper of God outside these walls.
Conclusion
Passions are not developed accidentally, especially developing a passion for God and honoring Him.
Why? Because it goes against our nature to honor anybody or anything before ourselves.
And becoming a person who is passionate about worshiping God in every area of our life is something that can only happen with continual, daily submission to him, saying, "God, no matter what happens today, you are the Lord. And more than that, you’re MY Lord. Help me to honor you in everything I do today. Help me make everything I do today an act of worship. For your pleasure."
You might want to write out a prayer that you can stick on your steering wheel or on your computer monitor.
Whaddya think? Are you willing to risk a radical change in your thinking and lifestyle, a change that looks at everything as an opportunity to worship?
Easy? No. It takes work. But I dare you to make it really happen. It’ll change your life, I guarantee it. And it will cause others to take notice, because they see that you’re an authentic follower of God, who follows out of a love and devotion. Not someone who follows God when it’s convenient or cheap.
Be a person who overflows with a love for God that spills over and floods every area of your being.
Honor God. Develop a passion for honoring and worshiping him.
And one last thing. I am convinced that God wants to use the people of this church to reach literally thousands of people in our area for Christ.
But you know what it’s going to take? People who are so sold-out to God that it affects everything they do.
Will you be one of those? I hope so. Let’s pray.
