What We Are Created To Do

INTRO: If I would say the word worship what would come to your mind?

-Wow, we just had a great worship service.

-Maybe we get a picture of some person bowing down worshipping their god.

History: Our English word worship comes from worthship which is still used in English law when a judge is referred to as “your worship” which means to pay homage or respect.

-Hebrew word means to bow down, to show reverence, to lay prostrate.

-We need to understand we were created to worship. We do worship things today. It’s not when or how you worship, it’s who you worship.

-God has given man a free choice to worship who he wants.

Today: We are going to look at the concept of worship.

TITLE: What We Are Created to Do

TEXT: Romans 12:1

Quote someone, “Worship is living in a state of constant gratitude. Even when we do something wrong we have something to be grateful for that is God’s mercy!”

I. In view of God’s mercy – a prerequisite to worship God is his mercy.

A. What we need to understand – it does not say in view of your righteousness, it doesn’t say in view of your brilliant mind or witty sense of humor.

1. It doesn’t say in view of your impressive spiritual resume.

-It says “in view of God’s mercy.”

2. What is the prerequisite to mercy – it’s you’ve had to do something wrong. So if you qualify for mercy you qualify for worship.

Point: Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God.

Example. How many times do we get hindered to worship God because we feel we’re not good enough, that we’re so unworthy, so rather than worship God we sit there feeling like a loser. How many people stay away from church because they feel they are unworthy.

-The truth is it’s about him and his great mercy we should be focused on, not about our inadequacies and failures. I understand this does not give us a license to sin, but the focus is on him.

B. We are broken from the fall. Mark Batterson cites some research.

1. “That we talk to ourselves 50,000 times a day and studies have found that on average 80% of self talk is negative.”

-It goes like this - I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, nobody likes me, I’m not skinny enough, pretty enough, smooth enough, kind enough, gentle enough, etc.

2. One of the enemy’s tactics is to get you focused on what wrong with you.

Why: Because when you get so fixated on your problems you’ll totally forget how good and how great God is.

-Don’t fall for the trick of the enemy. Yes, you need to confess and repent of your sins but understand the focus of your worship is God not you or others.

C. When the focus of your worship is wrong you are on dangerous ground.

1. C.S. Lewis: We are half-hearted creatures fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.

2. Be careful you don’t base your identity on the opinions of other people because you’ll begin to worship their opinion.

-God is the only opinion that counts. Conformity is living down, worship is living up.

3. Terry Law in his book The Power of Praise and Worship says: The more we worship something or someone, the more our commitment increases, and the more we become like the thing we worship.

-Psalm 115:4-8, “But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.”

4. Louis Giglio in his book The Air We Breathe: So how do you know what you worship? It’s easy. You simply follow the trail of your time, your affection, your money, and your allegiance. At the end of the trail you’ll find a throne; and whatever or whoever is on that throne is what’s of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship.

He goes on and says: Whatever you value most will ultimately determine who you are. If you worship money, you’ll become greedy at the core of your heart. If you worship some sinful habit, that same sin will grip your soul and poison your character to death. If you worship stuff, your life will become material, void of eternal significance.

Thought: So when you worship God, you will begin to take on his characteristics (love, mercy, grace, etc.).