DO YOU SEE HIM AS HE IS?
Psalm 96:1-6
S: Worship
C: God as He is
Th: God – Most Worthy of Praise
Pr: GOD IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE.
?: How? How do we do it?
KW: Declarations
TS: We will find in Psalm 96:1-6 three declarations that are worth following in order to praise God.
Type: Propositional
The ____ declaration is that we should…
I. SING (1-2)
II. TELL (2-3)
III. HONOR (4-6)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
Version: ESV
RMBC 04 September 05 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Expect
Max Greenberg was at his favorite eatery, the Second Avenue Deli, when he called over the waiter.
"Yes?" asked the busy waiter.
“Are you the waiter I ordered from?” asked Max.
“Yes, I am your waiter.”
"Are you sure you’re the waiter I ordered from?"
"Why do you ask?" replied the waiter.
Max replied, "Because I was expecting you to be a much older man by now."
Well…
1. What are your expectations today?
ILL Expect: Disney
Several years ago the executives at Disney World were surprised to find from their exit surveys that some families were leaving the theme park disappointed.
Do you know why? They had come to see somebody but during their visit they never crossed paths with him.
His name was Mickey Mouse.
So the Disney executives created a way that everyone who wanted to see Mickey Mouse would be able to see him.
Now on every day of the week at noon, a parade comes down Main Street with you know whom leading the way.
The result, children now leave the park happy and content because of who they saw.
2. What are your expectations today regarding worship?
The discovery Disney made applies to the church as well.
People come to church for a myriad of reasons.
Some may come from loneliness.
Some come because they will feel guilty if they do not.
Some may come because they always come.
But there is a really only one great reason to come to church today.
It is to see God.
It is to experience God.
It is to come and meet Jesus.
TRANSITION:
Today, we begin our annual emphasis on discipleship,
Being a disciple means that we are a true and committed follower of Jesus.
So…
1. When we are true followers of Jesus, we will be people of worship.
Worship is a great responsibility.
I think as believers in Jesus, we are often too casual about worship.
We don’t see the value of worship to ourselves.
But even more importantly, we don’t understand its value to God.
Worship is our highest privilege.
When we worship we speak of the value that God possesses in His being.
Because He is, He is worthy of our praise.
That is our theme this month…
2. GOD IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE.
God deserves every good word we put His way.
God deserves every attentive ear we give to His Holy Word.
God deserves every attempt on our part to demonstrate His worth.
He is worthy of our every praise.
To give God what He deserves, though, we should ask a question…
Do we see God as He is?
3. Do you see God as He is?
Perhaps an even more important question is, are you even looking for it?
Are you looking to see God as He is?
Or is our time of worship nothing more than going through the motions?
One of our familiar hymns challenges us to see God as He is.
It goes like this…
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish – but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render; O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.
Walter Chalmers Smith
Just as this author has done…
4. It is appropriate to respond to God’s being and activity.
Worship is not meant to be hard.
In fact, it is natural.
Just consider how excited we get when someone in the public eye does something we appreciate.
If we are watching an athletic event, some of us appear to be downright out of control.
We will stand and cheer, and even make weird noises (just check our the Super Bowl party).
Showing appreciation is natural.
It is built into us.
But what we must remember is that if we don’t worship God, we will find a substitute.
We will worship someone or something.
Today we are studying Psalm 96, and…
5. We will find in Psalm 96:1-6 three declarations that are worth following in order to praise God.
Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first declaration is that we should SING (1-2).
1. Singing is a holy act.
It is so important that the command is repeated three times.
God has given us voices to use.
God has given us music to use.
Combining them together is pleasing to God.
The fact that the command is repeated three times speaks to its holiness.
The angels declare the presence of God to Isaiah by saying, “Holy, holy, holy!”
The repetition speaks to completion and wholeness.
In the same way, the triplicate command to sing speaks to the holy nature of song when it comes to worship.
This means that our music is not allowed to be listless or stale.
Our music should not be boring.
Because we do not worship or serve a God who is listless, stale or boring.
Our response is to be an appropriate match to God as He is.
ILL Worship
There is a small village church in rural PA where on any given Sunday, they may have six or seven faithful little ones who come with their parents for the whole church service. The Pastor has a white bag which gets passed from child to child, making sure they get equal turns to put something in for him to talk about. Each Sunday, Pastor calls all the little children up to him and he opens the bag to find a "surprise" on which he bases his children’s sermon.
One week, the bag went home with a little guy who spends many hours a week on church related activities. His parents and older brother are very active and so, in turn, is he. When Pastor opened the bag, there was a copy of Handel’s Messiah which was very appropriate for Easter Sunday.
Pastor and the children had a lively discussion going on about the joy and happiness that music brings to the service. As he closed the little talk, Pastor said, “Yes, music is a wonderful part of our service. What would church be like if there was none?"
Without skipping a beat, the little boy who had brought the music said, "About a half an hour!"
Needless to say, everyone exploded into laughter which lasted for minutes. Finally, the Pastor said, "There is no way I can top that so let’s have a little prayer before you return to your seats."
Sherry E. Heard, Copyright 2005 Used With Permission
Well, we know music is a wonderful part of our service.
And it is absolutely worth doing.
Why?
It is because…
2. Since God is faithfully working, there is always a new song to sing.
Do you ever sit down to read the paper and find it is a copy of the news from days ago?
If you are like me, you say, “Where is today’s paper?”
You don’t want the old news.
You’ve seen it…read it…
It’s old news.
Some of us worship that way.
Our worship is just the same reading the old news in our spiritual lives.
We are just living on the fumes of past experience.
And our singing sounds like it.
Our words are glib.
Our minds are wandering.
Our hearts are somewhere else.
And it is not worship.
It is not worship of the God that is worthy of praise.
You see.
Anytime we feel indifferent, or apathetic, or bored…we have forgotten how amazing God’s grace is.
Our singing should reflect the fresh experience of the reality of God today.
He is alive…today.
He is working in our lives…today.
He is with us…today.
So our singing should reflect that…right?
II. The second declaration is that we should TELL (2-3).
ILL God
There was a man who went to a barber shop to have his hair cut as always. He started to have a good conversation with the barber who was cutting his hair. They talked about so many things and various subjects. Suddenly, they touched the subject of God.
The barber said, "Look man, I don’t believe that God exists!"
"Why do you say that?" asked the man. "Well, it’s so easy, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God does not exist. Tell me, if God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children. If God existed, there would be no suffering nor pain. I can’t think of loving a God who permits all of these things."
The man thought for the moment, but he didn’t want to respond so as to cause an argument.
The barber finished his job and the man went out of the shop. Just after he left the barber shop he saw a man in the street with long hair and beard and (it seemed that it had been a long time since he had his hair cut and he looked so untidy).
Then the first man again entered the barber shop and he said to the barber:
"You know what? Barbers do not exist!"
"How can you say they don’t exist?" asked the barber. I am here and I am a barber."
"No!" the man exclaimed. "You don’t exist because if you did there would be no people with long hair and beard like that man who walks the streets."
"But, I do exist, and that is what happens when people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the man. "That’s the point. God does exist, and see what happens when so many people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him? That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world."
Well, God does exist today, so…
1. We have daily news.
Since God is here…today…we have news to broadcast…daily.
The command to proclaim is a bold one.
It is communication that is public and proud.
It is a declaration that is unashamed and passionate.
Each day is new.
Each day God is doing something.
Each day God’s provision of salvation is being received.
There is never room for boredom.
There is never a dull day in the kingdom of God.
And because of that…
2. God is worth bragging about.
He is the God that delivers.
He is the God of miracles.
He is the God that is always victorious.
Now this is such good news, we are to make sure that…
3. No one is to be excluded.
The blessings of God are not intended for one people.
They are intended for everybody.
Gender doesn’t matter.
Race doesn’t matter.
Location doesn’t matter.
God is to be worshipped by all the nations.
God deserves to be worshipped by all the peoples of the world.
III. The third declaration is that we should HONOR (4-6).
1. We are not to miss His utter greatness.
God has a royal glory that is evident in creation.
He reigns.
And He possesses a royal presence over the earth.
That is why splendor, majesty, strength, glory, and excellent are all worthy words to be used next to His name.
He is great!!!
God is great beyond description!
Note how Eugene Peterson translates verses 4-6:
For GOD is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs.
His terrible beauty makes the gods look cheap;
Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags.
GOD made the heavens —
Royal splendor radiates from him,
A powerful beauty sets him apart.
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002
by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
These verses demonstrate why…
2. We must let go of our insane fondness for idols.
Literally, the psalmist calls them worthless.
We are to be unimpressed by them.
They are fakes.
There is no power.
There is no life.
Idols cannot be gods, according to the author, for God alone is Creator.
The idols fade, but God’s beauty and strength abides.
And perhaps you are thinking that you don’t have an idol in your house.
But I will say, perhaps you do.
For an idol is anything…any thing…that takes the place that God deserves.
We hold on to such things, and it is insane to do so.
We hold on to that which doesn’t last, and give up on that which does.
It makes no sense.
And we fail to give praise to the God who deserves it.
APPLICATION:
When we come to God…
1. We are to be thoughtful, deliberate, and emotional in our worship.
We are to use our mind.
We are not to be thoughtless.
We are not to be praying clichés.
We are not to offer careless “amens” and “praise the Lords”.
We are to be accurate in our understanding and mean what we say and do.
We are to use our will.
We are to be purposeful and deliberate.
There is not to be meaningless motion during worship.
There is not to be empty and dry emotion during worship.
We are to use our spirit.
We are to experience worship, because we are to experience God.
This means that worship is to be authentic, real, and responsive.
Let us admit that sometimes we are not thoughtful, deliberate and emotional in our worship.
Why does this happen?
It is because…
2. We are negatively influenced by narcissism.
We too often think about what we get out of worship instead of what God does.
There is a dangerous focus on the self.
More and more, we are living in a highly subjective and experiential world that exalts personal experience and inner self.
To often it is in to be religious, but it is a self-made religion, centered on what I think is right.
And this creeps into the evangelical church.
It is worship that is thoughtless, haphazard and dry because it fails to see God as He is – most worthy to be praised.
So let us agree with Robert Webber:
3. “Worship is not about me, or my experience; worship is to be only about God’s story.”
Robert Webber
Worship starts with who God is.
And it continues with what He does.
His salvation for the peoples of the world has culminated in Jesus.
This is God’s story.
Let’s sing it.
Let’s proclaim it.
And let us celebrate it around His table this day.
COMMUNION:
You can find the following article by John Piper at the address below. Though it was written in the context of the tsunami, it seemed appropriate to read it in the context of Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.desiringgod.org/library/fresh_words/2005/010505.html
Tsunami and Repentance
January 5, 2005
From pulpits to news programs, from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, the message of the tsunami was missed. It is a double grief when lives are lost and lessons are not learned. Every deadly calamity is a merciful call from God for the living to repent. “Weep with those who weep,” the Bible says. Yes, but let us also weep for our own rebellion against the living God. Lesson one: weep for the dead. Lesson two: weep for yourselves.
Every deadly calamity is a merciful call from God for the living to repent. That was Jesus’ stunning statement to those who brought him news of calamity. The tower of Siloam had fallen, and 18 people were crushed. What about this, Jesus? they asked. He answered, “Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4-5).
The point of every deadly calamity is this: Repent. Let our hearts be broken that God means so little to us. Grieve that he is a whipping boy to be blamed for pain, but not praised for pleasure. Lament that he makes headlines only when man mocks his power, but no headlines for ten thousand days of wrath withheld. Let us rend our hearts that we love life more than we love Jesus Christ. Let us cast ourselves on the mercy of our Maker. He offers it through the death and resurrection of his Son.
This is the point of all pleasure and all pain. Pleasure says: “God is like this, only better; don’t make an idol out of me. I only point.” Pain says: “What sin deserves is like this, only worse; don’t take offense at me. I am a merciful warning.”
But the topless sunbathers amid the tsunami aftermath in Phuket, Thailand did not get the message. Neither did the man who barely escaped the mighty wave with the help of a jungle gym and palm-leaf roof. He concluded, “I am left with an immense respect for the power of nature.” He missed it. The point is: reverence for the Creator, not respect for creation. [Ed. note: John Piper’s theological point remains the same, but please note that the quote was erroneously truncated by the Associated Press. Mr. Green really did see and say the truth, and was incompletely quoted by John Piper’s source. For John Piper’s apology to Patrick Green, read "A Letter from John Piper."]
Writing in the New York Times, David Brooks rightly scorns the celebration of nature’s might: “When Thoreau [celebrates] savage wildness of nature, he sounds, this week, like a boy who has seen a war movie and thinks he has experienced the glory of combat.” But Brooks sees no message in the calamity: “This is a moment to feel deeply bad, for the dead and for those of us who have no explanation.”
David Hart, writing in the Wall Street Journal, goes beyond Brooks and pronounces: “No Christian is licensed to utter odious banalities about God’s inscrutable counsels or blasphemous suggestions that all this mysteriously serves God’s good ends.”
These responses are foreseen in Scripture: “I killed your young men with the sword . . . yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord” (Amos 4:10). “They cursedthe name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory” (Revelation 16:9).
Contrary to Hart’s pronouncement, the Christian Scriptures do indeed license us to speak of God’s “inscrutable counsels” and how he works in all things for mysterious good ends. To call this banal and blasphemous is like a bird calling the wind under its wing wicked.
Jesus said that the minutest event in nature is under the control of God. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29). He said this to give hope to those who would be killed for his name.
He himself stood on the sea and stopped the waves with a single word (Mark 4:39). Even if Nature or Satan unleashed the deadly tidal wave, one word from Jesus would have stopped it. He did not speak it. This means there is design in this suffering. And all his designs are wise and just and good.
One of his designs is my repentance. Therefore I will not put God on trial. I am on trial. Only because of Christ will the waves that one day carry me away bring me safely to his side. Come. Repentance is a good place to be.
©Desiring God
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do NOT alter the wording in any way, you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you do not make more than 1,000 physical copies. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be explicitly approved by Desiring God.
Perhaps today is a day of repentance for you…
Those of us that know Jesus are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of this church to partake, but we do ask that you have a relationship with Jesus.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, you do not trust Him with your life, that is, you have not been changed by the message, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you do have that personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by ____, let us take a moment and thank Him for being our sacrifice.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
____ will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
God is worthy to be praised…so sing – sing a new song – for God is never old news – there is always something new to sing about.
God is worthy to be praised…so tell the good news – God is worth bragging about – He is worth telling about to the whole world.
God is worthy to be praised…so honor Him, for He is so great! Let go of the idols of your life and worship the One who deserves it.
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, William A. VanGemeren
Psalms 73-150, Derek Kidner, Tyndale series
“I-Me-My Worship?” Worship Leader, Robert Webber
“Purpose Driven Life: Worship that Pleases God”, Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox, Rick Warren
Sermoncentral:
The Imperatives of Worship, Brian Bill
Holiness: The Big Picture, Christopher Latham
