What Do You Give A God Who Has Everything?

What Do You Give a God Who Has Everything?

Going back to the heart of Worship

Topic: Honoring God with whole hearted worship

Thesis: God warns his people to repent from superficial worship by turning their hearts to honor Him

Aim: To turn the hearts of our church to honor God with worship that starts with the heart and runs through all of life.

Notice of Order Change: Doing something different: Dead Poet’s Society, standing on desks for different perspective, and maybe enhance the worship we are gathered here together to give to God

Introduction

Principal’s office—Big desk, quiet halls, just the tap tap of type writer, knowing glances from the secretaries, and occasionally, off in the distance, you could hear the distinct blood curdleing cry of a young school boy in dire straits. I hated going there.

I hated when people just said “Dan, I need to talk to you!” Always had a guilty conscience, I guess. I just knew the boom would be lowered on me

If you can imagine the fear in our hearts at those things, think about the terror we’d feel as this scene unfolded before us:

Psalm 50: 1-7 (talk of God’s name, the terrifying images—often like that when God enters the room—the guy you want on your team not against you (Shaq mad at MVP)—, the courtroom drama, being on display.)

1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.

2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,

God shines forth.

3 Our God comes and will not be silent;

a fire devours before him,

and around him a tempest rages.

4 He summons the heavens above,

and the earth, that he may judge his people:

5 “Gather to me my consecrated ones,

who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,

for God himself is judge. Selah

7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak,

O Israel, and I will testify against you:

I am God, your God.

We find God is not too happy with his people:

• Consecrated—set apart

• Covenant—agreement between God and his people

o Full of rich blessings and reward—if they obeyed

o Curses and discipline—if they broke the covenant

• Alas, God always proved faithful, mankind, unfaithful

Similar to our fear of principals, we don’t often like to think of God judging us, but throughout history, that is just what God has done—even though he often does so to get his people back on track.

In Psalm 50, we find God asking his people to give him something that he is missing. What could that be?—he has everything . . .

vv. 11-12

11 I know every bird in the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are mine.

12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,

for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

What can you give a God that has everything?

In one word: HONOR.

This Psalm serves as a wake up call for God’s people who have gotten on the wrong path and have ceased giving him the honor they should give Him as their God.

Listen again to the strong words of God:

v. 7 Charges I have against you (whose going to dispute this prosecutor?)

v. 16 “To the Wicked” (not what you want to be called by a holy God)

vv. 21-22 God kept silent (making them think they could get away with what they were doing) but he is silent no longer:

• “rebuke you”

• “Accuse you”

• “I will tear you to pieces with none to rescue you.”

Not exactly the kinds of things you would expect from a cuddly grandpa, but the kind of thing you would expect from a Holy, Offended, and Angry God.

But this is not a final judgement, but a warning that they are headed for DESTRUCTION, but their fate can be changed if they listen to God and obey what he wants.

Key Point: God warns his people to repent from superficial worship by turning their hearts to honor Him

That’s all He wants: for us to honor him.

How were the people supposed to do this? That is what we will discover today. But it is not just a message for people from 3,000 years ago, but as God’s word is timeless, it is also a message for us.

While Reading this devotionally, it startled me and made me think about how I was in relation to God. Sometimes we need to be snapped out of complacency and wrong-headedness. It is my prayer today that this message will serve to help reorient us and our hearts and lives in line with God—and in so doing, give him something He deserves: Our highest honor and complete devotion.