Worship; It's Not About Us
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 12 viewsWorshipping God Correctly according to his word and not how we feel or how others do it.
Notes
Transcript
Scripture: Lk 18:10-14
Scripture: Lk 18:10-14
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Introduction
Introduction
Examine the scenario.
Two men went in to pray:-
(1a) The Pharisee stood by himself; (1b) The Publican stood afar off; probably thinking of his unworthiness. Let me help you to understand why that was probably so; in effect the Pharisee wanted to be elite, to be noticed. And certainly not to be contaminated by the Am Ha Arez (“People of the Land”), nor those designated to be “untouchables”. And if God did not know of their discrimination, the Pharisee did not hesitate to identify the people of both groups within the social status of first century in Palestine at the time.
Jewish Sectarianism
Jewish Sectarianism
The Am Ha Arez were Jews who were ignorant of the Law through lack of education and who did not scrupulously observe those commandments with which they were familiar. The generally hostile attitude of the Pharisees toward the Am Ha Arez is expressed in John 7:49,
49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
There was yet another social class in first-century Palestine, which can be designated as “untouchables.” This group was composed of Samaritans, tax collectors, prostitutes, shepherds, those who bought and sold seventh-year produce, lepers, Gentiles, and, perhaps worst of all, Jews who became as Gentiles (e.g., the prodigal son of Lk 15:11–32). Social class and status in first-century Palestine was determined in accordance with the rules of ritual purity. There was the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes and Priests in the upper class and then everybody else. There was basically no Middle class.
(2a) The Pharisee acknowledged only the presence of God. Not His majesty, His compassion or mercy; The Publican acknowledged that he did not have to explain his sins or God’s power to forgive him.
(2b) The Pharisee brought no petitions, had no longing for communion, no aspiration, no emotion and praised himself to God, instead of thanking God for himself. The Publican by beating his chest tried to pierce his breastplate in penitence, acknowledging his sinfulness.
3.Thus the Lord righteously concluded, that the Publican humbled himself and thus was exalted in the sight of God and went home justified.
4. Lest we forget that lesson. James 4:6,10 confirms this:
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
You see brethren the nature of worship God demands is the prostration of our souls before him in humble and contrite submission.
And I have come here today to remind US that worship- it’s not about us and if you should need a title for today’s lesson you can use that.
The first time that was made clear to us was in Gen. 4:3-5 “And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the first born of his flock and of their fat. And the lord respected Abel and his offering, but he did not respect Cain and his offering. Why was that?
Two answers may be forthcoming yet, those two answers may be one and the same. Exodus 23:19 and Leviticus 2:12,14,15, give us a clue.
19 “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Leviticus 2:12
12 As an offering of firstfruits you may bring them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma.
Have you noticed that the word first does not exist in front of fruits in Genesis when mentioning Cain’s sacrifrice?
The scripture also tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God; what I am saying then or also, since Heb 11:4 tells us that
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
we basically have no choice to assume that Cain made worship about himself or about what he wanted to do and not about the word of God.
Nadab and Abihu went on to make similar mistakes about worship treating it in a contemptible manner and got their just punishment.
My citing early examples of worship gone wrong is the support of for what I proclaim – “Worship is always about God”. In a way that Nadab and Abihu found out that if God asks for a Coke, don’t conclude that he wanted a black soft drink and give give Him a Pepsi or give Him any kind of cola; if He asked for what was not available, wait until you get the right thing. And I’d like to first make four (4) points of Worship in our time.
1. Worship Is God-Centered Not Man-Centered.
1. Worship Is God-Centered Not Man-Centered.
Eh heh! Is that so?
• If that is so, how come what decides if you come to worship who is the preacher and what he preaches about. I'm sure you have heard the answer of men when they start to fall away " Oh I don't like how so and so preaches". Let me just say this, “ dynamic or not, he is doing his job.” The bible says in Ps 100:4
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
• How come if we decide to sing at all, it’s because of who the song leader is and what songs he sings? I tell you brethren unless you are physically challenged, or to be politically correct, differently able, if you don’t open your mouth to sing, God can’t hear your heart. Heb 13:15; Col 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Isa.6:1-5 records Isaiah’s confrontation with God’s holiness and immediately it reminds him of his unholiness, his own filthiness and guiltiness and that of the people. It’s only the quick action of the Seraphim and God’s love for him, expressed through the action of the Seraphim and God’s choice to use him saved him from the wrath of God. By then he is so grateful for being allowed in the presence of Israel’s Holy God, He is more than willing to worship. He says “here Am I send me”.
Can I ask a rhetorical question. Would you agree with me If I say that God doesn’t get that kind of reverence today? Don’t answer that, it’s rhetorical.
I mean we whisper, we answer our phones, we text. We act as if Sunday ends at twelve noon. You Know , the rest of the day is mine to do what I want to do. Don’t you get that impression sometime. And we are not here to judge others but If we can see lack of effort and lack of sovereignty, yet another question; don’t you think that God can too?
And if you don’t know what I mean by that let me explain. The fact is, I almost said, the truth is that we make a distinction between morning worship and evening worship. It’s almost as if we’re saying that God already got worshipped today by the multitude so this evening He’s going to send someone to fill in for Him. And if you think I’m talking alone about our manner of dress, then I will pray that God forgives us; it may be that we don’t really get it about the reverence, the sovereignty and holiness of our God. The fact that some of us come to evening worship alone means morning worship is about God and evening worship is about ourselves
We must control our thoughts during worship. I know it’s hard, but we have to always remember, it’s not about us; or pretty soon we are going to be like the Pharisee “I am not like them.”
The bible says 1 Ti 4:13 " ..... Set an example...... Devote yourself, or some version give attention to.......
But the proof of the pudding is in the fact that at the beginning of every age some one loses their life or rather I should say someone dies because of improper worship. Adam, I know we say he died spiritually but the fact remains that that raises the question was it the original plan for man not too die? Have we ever considered that if all creation kept the be fruitful and multiply command that Eden would have been the whole world.
Nadab and Abihu in the Mosaical age, Ananias and Saphira in the Christian age.
2. Worship Is Not A Spectator Event.
2. Worship Is Not A Spectator Event.
• Public worship is the culmination of our private prayers and devotions, Public worship is an open avowal to the world of our faith in God and our belief in prayer and so, mostly in the light of day before all men, we gather to pray and glorify our God. Heb.10:24,25 puts it best
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
But we can’t stir up anything if we treat worship like a concert and we are just another spectator. How can we exhort if we come without our Bible? And if, we come without our Bibles, Then the preacher can say anything he wants and we are non the wiser.
• How can we stir up love and good works if we leave before the worship is complete? How can we stir good works if we have nothing to share? That brings be to my third point;
3. Public Worship Is Not A Means To Come And Get Something To Carry Us Through The Week.
3. Public Worship Is Not A Means To Come And Get Something To Carry Us Through The Week.
• I tell you brethren, when we meet God it is in the unity of the Holy Spirit where we can put individual and common matters to God at the foot of the cross. But this does not negate the fact that we must meet God outside of Sunday worship.
• It can be in your car, on your job, in your home. To meet God in the proper way we must always make the effort to know him, to understand his ways and diligently seek him and he has provided us with his all sufficient word to do such a thing. Away from the assembly we are physically alone and when the evil one attacks us we must have at least the shield of faith for defense or the sword of the spirit which is the word of God to attack if not the whole armour of God. Sunday’s Alleluia or Amen is not going to save you on Tuesday on your job when your co-workers do you an injustice. Or when on Friday that emergency causes you to be; sweaty and over anxious. That is the time that knowing the word of God will pay off.
Sometime brethren we find ourselves at church – and I am using church and worship interchangeably- because we cannot supply a good reason for staying home; and if so then we come for nothing and thus, we will leave with nothing and should not be surprised when there is no spiritual growth or blessings in our lives.
The gathering itself is a strengthening and sustenance and the fact that God uses us to accomplish his purposes in the world, and to influence others, we shouldn’t let that lesson be negative on your part.
If we want to be blessed or blessed we must come with purpose to pray, to exhort, to teach and be ready for every good works.
4. Worship Is Rehearsal For Services In Heaven
4. Worship Is Rehearsal For Services In Heaven
• Nowhere in the bible is a solo or duet sung.
• Miriam and the women in times of Moses.
• Asaph, Heman, Jeduthan and his boys in times of King David.
• When Jesus was born no one angel praised God it was a multitude of the heavenly host.
• In Revelation no one elder broke out into a solo but all twenty four (24) elders bowed down and sung “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.”
• However good you sing by yourself, you will have to learn to sing in harmony with the heavenly host. But before that you have to learn to lead God’s children in harmony in song service.
• The Lord’s Supper prepares us for the marriage feast when Christ will come again to break bread with us. Think about that when you deny yourself of partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
In Summary Brethren:-
In Summary Brethren:-
1. Although there may be a little Pharisee in all of us, we must always strive to be like the Publican. Be conscious of our sin, our emptiness, our vulnerability and need for mercy at the throne of God as only he in his sovereign grace can provide.
Let's not like the prophecy of Isa 29:13 which is also reflected in Mt 15:8-9; Mk 7:6-7
6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
2. Phi. 2:12 tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling”; and don’t doubt it but our salvation depends on whether our actions and our worship is pleasing to God or not.
3. Worship is not about getting something out of the service; worship is always about giving to God. We don’t come for worship, we come to worship. If we must control our thoughts and not allow them to wander off, slouching, sleeping, squirming, unnecessary talking, passing notes all show disrespect for God. Mark 7:6 it’s like honouring God with your lips – but your heart is far from him.
4. When you take the role of spectator you hardly notice when brethren stop coming to Wednesday or Thursday in some cases, Bible classes. You hardly notice when they stop coming Sunday morning Bible class and then Sunday worship. So I beseech you as does Rom 12:1
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
When we worship we focus on the sovereignty, glory, holiness, justice wisdom and righteousness of God. Mt 4:10 and 1Ch 16:29.
Invitation
Invitation
For those not yet in Christ – Anyhow you look at it, it is always a deep sense of sin, a deep sense of sovereign grace that helps a man to come to God and to the house of God and become fulfilled. It is this very sort of sinner that Christ died to save. You can be as bad as you think you are, in your esteem the worst of all men, Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. On the other hand there are those who like the Pharisee feel assured that they are in the right, you cannot wait until that time in the marriage feast when someone points at you and say “Friend how did you get in here without a wedding garment”. At that time you will be thrown in the outer darkness.
Use the privilege of the public fellowship in the gospel to confess Jesus Christ before men so that he can confess you before his father who is in heaven. Come to Jesus today.
To the believers I say in the words of 1 John 1:9 ”
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Then we can all walk in the light as He is in the light and have free fellowship with one another.
We take love away from God by treating God as if He were “second best.” We do this when we follow another’s will instead of keeping God’s commandments. We do it when we trust people or things more than we trust the God who made us. We do it when we worship or pray to others. When an enemy tried to make Jesus divide His love in these ways, Jesus replied, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matthew 4:10).
God desires and demands first place in our hearts and lives. He cannot accept second place, for that would be a lie. Simple honesty requires that God alone be recognized and treated with the highest honor. No other can claim the kind of honor that should go to God.
I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols (Isaiah 42:8).
do not come to the Lord with a blemished heart . .......For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. Mal 1:14
. ......... Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).