Worship God!

First Baptist Church

Worship God!

March 1, 2020

A number of years ago, probably about 20 - 30 years ago, the church world entered what was affectionately called “WORSHIP WARS!” Worship wars really have to do with one aspect of worship, the music. That’s great news for me, because there are no sermon wars, at least not yet.

Worship wars were and are all about the music we sing in worship. Some like hymns, some like contemporary Christian music, some would prefer a little Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, along with a dose of Kanye West. The last 2 have proclaimed faith in Jesus, by the way. Others might want more of a country themed worship. Others really don’t care. It’s been a struggle since the church attempted to be more contemporary, to try and reach the “younger generation.”

As you can see today, we were very hymn focused. And that’s great! We’ve had days where we’ve been more contemporary focused, but most of the time we try to have a healthy combination of both.

We’re in our 3rd week of looking at worship, as it pertains to our purpose in life. We’re called to worship God!! Most of us consider Sunday as our worship time. It’s when we make special efforts to come to the church and worship God. And you know . . . there are some Sundays it’s not easy to get out of bed.

Whatever the reason. Maybe it’s the kids, maybe you’re over-tired and over-stressed and you just want to hide under the covers. There are summer trips, winter vacations, kids and family events which can easily pull us away from coming here to worship. And for many, it’s easy to get out of the Sunday morning routine and stop worshiping.

But I would say that worship isn’t just about what happens here. There’s far more to worship than just coming to this building on Sundays. Yet, when we come here, what’s our attitude, what are we expecting and willing to give when we walk through the doors. With that in mind, I want to look at some of what Jesus said about worship and where the focus of worship should be.

In Matthew 15, Jesus was being tested by the Pharisees. They were trying to trap Him and they asked Jesus why the disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate. It’s really kind of a silly question to ask grown men, but they were trying to trap Jesus and have Him go against the traditions of the elders and the word of God. Ultimately, Jesus responded to them with these words --

7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. - Matthew 15:7-9

Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 29. This was an issue with the Israelites as well back in the 700 BC era. Jesus’ point was that the pharisees are following tradition. The Pharisees were hypocrites because their actions were external and didn’t come from their hearts, and their teachings were not from God but were based on tradition.

They were giving lip service to God. They kind of make it look like they were all pious and spiritual and following God, but really it was lip service. You know how it is when you tell someone something about your life, and they’re nodding their head, and as you walk away you think, “that was a waste of time, they acted interested, but they didn’t really care.”

Have you ever had that happen to you? That’s kind of what I see happening with what Jesus was telling the Pharisees.

Jesus’ point is that it’s about the heart. The heart is what counts in worship. As a result, the Pharisees were worshiping God in vain, because they were more interested in following traditions than giving their hearts to God.

We see the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, Jesus said --

23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. - Matthew 5:23-24

Have you ever noticed that it’s not easy to worship when you’re really angry. Jesus wants us to understand that as well. When we come here, but know there are issues with a brother or sister that are reconcilable, we need to seek that out before we give our gifts to God. In other words, don’t make a big production of your gift. Leave it at the altar, because your gift is a gift to the Lord and you should give it with a clean heart. When reminded of that, go, go and be reconciled to your brother or sister, then come back with a joyful heart and worship God.