The Result Of Worship Series

Intro: We learned a few weeks ago that the chief business of the church is to worship God. I want to remind you that the main words used to speak of worship in the New and Old Testaments carry the idea of bowing down. Our lives as individuals and as a whole as a church body are to be bowed down to God daily. This bowing down to God is not an interruption of our regularly scheduled week. When we gather together as the church it is a continuation of what we do individually during the week.

If we believe that worship is the chief business of the church we need to make some things clear. Music is not the chief business of the church. However we worship God in song by putting our voices in harmony to sing of the excellences of our savior and master Jesus. Worship isn’t about the preaching but we gather to hear a man declare God’s living word and watch the Holy Spirit do miraculous things. Worship isn’t about serving but we come and serve each other and our community and it is how we show each other and the world the body of Christ.

Paul makes very clear what biblical worship is in Romans 12:1-2 (read) it is the bowing down of our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual life before God.

The passages we have seen have in the past few weeks have dealt directly with individual worship. This morning we look at worship of the whole local body. This church was receiving this letter because many of them were abandoning the meetings of the church. They had faced persecution and were being tempted to go back to the easier simpler way of temple worship.

So the writer of the Hebrews encourages them and us to worship the only one worthy of worship.

I. The foundation of our worship

A) Forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus

The reason we worship Jesus is because He alone is worthy to bow our lives before. When you read the entire Old Testament look for Jesus in the sacrifices. Every dove, bull, goat and lamb were sacrificed to point to the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of all mankind

Something that needs to be shared is John 3:16-17 God’s love is for the world. If you have not bowed your life to God you stand already condemned. It doesn’t matter how much God loves you if you don’t accept the free forgiveness purchased by Jesus.

When you receive His free gift and experience the lifting of the weight of condemnation worship is the result!

B) Fellowship with God through the new and living way

Read Matthew 27:45-53 this tearing of the veil represented the removal of the barrier of fellowship with God. There is so much desire to find practical teaching for the church today that we miss what will make us the most faithful. Fellowship with God drives us to become more like Jesus and breaks sins power over our daily decisions and actions. This is the most practical thing we can do as a church.

The only way to this fellowship with God is through the freshly slain and living way Jesus! I just read this week that someone was saying that we all worship the same God. You have to examine this statement. Hinduism leads to the nothingness of nirvana. Islam leads to a judgmental God. Various forms of earth worship lead us to a meaningless life. We could go on and on. Jesus through His death and resurrection lead us into a living relationships with God. This living relationship is why we bow and serve.

II. The unity of our worship

I want you to notice something very important in this passage. At least ten times we, us, our, is used in this passage. Worship was not meant to be done alone.

Worship is designed to get us focused on God and forget our pain and problems. When we worship together we realize God is bigger than all our combined problems. When we worship together we realize that we are to represent God together. When we worship together we realize we have a mission to share Jesus together.

It isn’t simply coming together that strengthens us. It is coming together to worship the living God.

A) We are united in full assurance

Full assurance means complete trust. When we worship in full assurance we walk prepared to do what God has said.

The story is told of a tightrope walker who liked to walk a wire across Niagara Falls-preferably with someone on his back. Many people on the bank expressed complete confidence in his ability to do it, but he always had a difficult time getting a volunteer to climb up on him.