Worship Without Walls

Worship without Walls

Micah 6:6-8 (New International Version)

6With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

INTRODUCTION: What would you do?

Mike Breaux tells the story of a man and his wife who go to a restaurant that features steak and a salad bar. As they dine, a girl comes out with a 5-gallon bucket of Thousand Island dressing to fill up the salad bar. But she catches her heel and launches the 5-gallon container of dressing all over this one guy. He’s got Thousand Island dressing from the top of his head to the bottom of his shoes; dripping off his forehead, off his chin, on the lapels of his suit, all over his tie, all over his pants, all over his shoes. He is a mess. Now if you were the one covered by Thousand Island dressing, what would you do? How would you respond?

This guy, he goes ballistic. He starts calling this poor girl every name a marine drill sergeant ever used. And he says, "I can’t believe just how stupid you are. Look at this! This is the first chance I’ve had to wear this suit. It cost me $350 and you have completely ruined it." She’s going, "Sir..." and she’s trying to clean up. "Get away from me! You caused enough damage already." His wife chimes in. "That’s right. It’s a $350 suit...blah … blah … blah."

Everybody in the whole restaurant is watching, and he demands, "I want to see the manager." The manager comes out and says, "Is there a problem?" "Yes there’s a problem. This stupid girl has ruined my suit. It’s the first chance I’ve had to wear it. It costs $350."

"Sir, we’ll clean your suit for you. No problem. We’ll take care of that." The guy says, "I don’t want my suit cleaned. I want a new suit. It’s completely ruined. I want a new suit. I want a check right now for $350." The manager disappeared, and the guy with him. I imagine he wrote him a check and justice was served.

Now here’s what interesting about this story is that this happened on a Sunday afternoon. So why in the world would a guy be in a suit on a Sunday afternoon? Oh, I don’t know. Probably just came from hearing a great sermon on loving your neighbor as yourself or about turning the other cheek. People who work in food service will tell you that the very worst people to wait on are the people who just got out of church on a Sunday morning. That’s tragic, because, friends, we’re called to worship not only inside the walls of a church, but to worship without walls.

We’re called to worship in restaurants. We are called to worship at the ball field. We are called to worship at the golf course. We’re called to worship in the classroom. We’re called to worship in the office cubicle. But how do you worship without walls? And what does God expect of such a life of worship outside of Sunday morning? Micah explains 3 requirements of Worship without Walls.

Micah says in Micah 6:8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” -- (New International Version)

Micah shares 3 requirements that are easy to memorize. Repeat them with me, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Today let’s take a closer look at those 3 requirements and how God calls us to live them out in worship without walls.

REQUIREMENT 1: “To act justly”: Live by God’s standards. I am male; therefore I am gift buying challenged. When Sharon’s birthday comes along or our anniversary, I need help. I need a list. Give me a list, I can do okay. Don’t give me a list, well, it’s just not pretty what happens. These 3 requirements that Micah gives are God’s list. Want to express love to God, this is what you do. That’s why Paul says in Titus 2:11-12, 11God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! 12We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now. -- (The Message)