God's Will For Me: Worship

INTRO: Hebrews 10:24-25. It is God’s will that you worship with other Christians, every week. 1) The Aim of Worship: the target, 2) The Approach to Worship: the archer, 3) The Principles of Worship: the arrows.

1.      The Aim of Worship: the target

a.      Praise God

b.      Worship is the idea of expressing our love and devotion to God.

c.       In the Old Testament, we see many examples of people falling before God and bowing down to Him, in relation to worship.

                                                              i.      This was to show reverence and respect to God. You are lowering yourself and lifting God up, showing He is worthy of honor and praise.

d.      And while there are certainly times today when it may be appropriate to literally fall on our knees before God, what God wants in the public worship is a mental state of bowing before Him, with respect.

                                                              i.      “Praise the Lord! Praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” – Psalm 150

                                                            ii.      When we worship God, we are praising Him for who He is, what He has done for us, and what He is going to do.

e.      Encourage each other

f.        Although worship can and should be done in private, God has designed the worship assembly to be reciprocal – for the mutual benefit of the congregation.

                                                              i.      Hebrews 10:23-25

                                                            ii.      1 Corinthians 14:26 – “When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.”

g.       In either case, it is not a question of “what am I going to get out of worship?”

                                                              i.      Worship is not about my preferences. Worship is not about how it sounds, looks, or feels to me. Worship is not about the traditions we make, the songs we like, and sermons that make us feel good.

1.      Worship is NOT about us.

                                                            ii.      However, if we worship correctly, we will be affected by our worship.

                                                          iii.      If we will worship to praise God and encourage each other, it will sound good and we will feel good. Our worship will transform our lives, build us up, and make us better followers of Christ.

                                                           iv.      1) The Aim of Worship is to praise God and encourage each other.

 

2.      The Approach to Worship: the archer

a.      John 4:23-24 – “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

                                                              i.      The truth must be there. We must worship how God said and only how God said, AMEN?

                                                            ii.      But there must also be spirit. We must have the right attitude.

                                                          iii.      Hebrews 10:22

                                                           iv.      We can do everything right when it comes to worship: we can worship for the right reason and in the right way – but if our heart is not in the right place, our worship will not be acceptable to God.

b.      Malachi 1:6-8, 14 – “A son honors his father… If then I am a father, where is my honor, O priests who despise my name? But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ By offering polluted food upon my altar… When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil?... Cursed be the cheat who… sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King… and my name will be feared among the nations.”

c.       Spencer Shaw points out that: too often we come to church because we’re supposed to, but our minds are on something else. We are thinking about relationships, something at work, what’s for lunch, or a football game – and our hearts aren’t in it. Worship is not just blindly going through the motions. We are to worship God with our hearts.

                                                              i.      In Matthew 15:8-9 Jesus quotes Isaiah saying, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

d.      When we worship God, we need to give God our best. We give God all we have, not just our leftovers. We need to be fully focused on Him.

e.      When God called us to be His servants, He called us to give up everything and to be fully devoted to Him.

f.        1) The Aim of Worship is to praise God and encourage each other. 2) The Approach to Worship must be with our heart.

 

 

3.      The Principles of Worship: the arrows

a.      Just like an archer is nothing without arrows, worship is nothing without action.

b.      There are 5 main acts of worship: singing, studying God’s word, prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and the contribution.

                                                              i.      Each of those we have or will talk about in the focus of a separate sermon… but those are not the only things that matter in our worship.

                                                            ii.      Other than those things, how can I put my worship into action?

c.       Attendance

d.      Since one aim of worship is to encourage each other, we must attend worship services.

                                                              i.      Hebrews 10:25 (NASB) – “not forsaking our own assembling together…”

                                                            ii.      God wants you to worship with other Christians. You cannot do that if you are not here when Christians meet.

                                                          iii.      This includes assemblies authorized by the eldership: such as the second Sunday service, Wednesday devotionals, Vacation Bible School, Gospel Meetings… Whenever it is possible, we need to be in attendance.

e.      Of course there is a big difference between missing the assembly and “forsaking” the assembly. The difference simply depends on your reason for not being here and how often it happens.

                                                              i.      One commentator notes “Some folks need to give serious attention to the fact that if the ox keeps falling into the ditch, they need to cover that ditch!”

f.        What is it that keeps you from attending? Is it temporary or does it seem to happen often? Is it something you have no control over or can you do something about it?

                                                              i.      Hebrews 10:26-27

                                                            ii.      When the doors are open, we need to be here.

g.       Appearance

h.      What does a person’s appearance say about them?

                                                              i.      When you see a guy in a suit what do you think? That he must have something important to do. That he is going to be around someone important. That he cares about what he does.

i.        What would you wear if you were going to your mother’s funeral? Or being interviewed for a job? Or going to visit the president?

j.        Doesn’t God deserve more respect even than the president?

                                                              i.      Colossians 3:23-24 – “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

k.       There is not anything in the New Testament that tells us specifically how we should dress when we come to church…

l.        But since worship is for God and must be done with our heart, all aspects of our lives follow that principle: our money, our time, our focus, our voices, our minds, and even our clothes.

                                                              i.      Our attendance and our appearance reflect our mindset, so we should be here as often as possible and look as nice as we can when we’re worshipping.

m.    1) The Aim of Worship is to praise God and encourage each other, 2) The Approach to Worship must be with our heart, 3) The Principles of Worship include our attendance and our dress.

 

CONCLUSION: God commands and expects us as Christians to worship Him. And how we worship God is a matter of eternal importance. How important is worship to you?

Do you worship God with the aim of praising Him and encouraging others? Do you approach worship with your heart? Do you attend worship as often as possible? Does your appearance honor God?

Andrew Schwarz