Good morning, CHURCH!

(Church joke of the day)

I have this friend of mine that’s a pastor and he told me he consulted his doctor about his wife’s snoring.

I said come on pastor everybody snores a little bit at times.

I snore sometimes.

My wife snores sometimes.

“It can’t really be that bad it is?”

He said, “Pastor J, this is not just an occasional snore here or there.”

I said to him, ‘Does it really bother you that much that you have to consult a physician?’

He said, ‘It’s not just me.’

‘It’s bothering the whole congregation!’

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Let’s go to the book of Genesis 1:3 NLT for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Genesis 1:3 NLT

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Look at what God did here.

He spoke to that which was not and called it to become that which is.

We are so used to speaking of that which is or speaking to what we see.

God does just the opposite.

· There was an old man whose wife was too old to have children, so God changed his name to Abraham which in Hebrew means father of the multitudes.

· There was a man who was rejected by his family, falsely accused, and thrown into prison.

But God had caused his parents to name him at birth the Hebrew name Yosef which means he shall increase.

He became the ruler of Egypt. You know him as Joseph.

· There was a man who lived in fear of his enemies. But God had caused him to be named Giddone.

The name means he who strikes down.

He became known as a hero who struck down the enemies of Israel.

You know him as Gideon.

We see ourselves and each other as we are but God sees us not as we are, but as He called us to be.

God gives you and identity not based on your past but based on your future.

Based on what you are to become.

Our job is to believe and receive the identity God gives us even before we see it.

You are no longer rejected. You are beloved.

You are no longer weak. You are mighty.

You are no longer defeated. You are victorious.

Start seeing yourself by the new names God has given you.

Start seeing your spouse by the new name God has given them.

Start seeing your brother/sister in Christ by the name God has given them.

Let’s get into today’s message.

The Heart of Worship (pt.3)

In my studies this week I looked up the word worship in the Lexham Theological Wordbook.

I was shocked when I read the first line used to define worship.

This was the first definition.

Worship is the awed response to the saving acts and praiseworthy character of God.

Question?

Do you respond to God’s saving acts with awe?

Do you respond to God’s character with awe?

What would an awed response even look or feel like.

Google said: To respect and revere someone or something; experience a feeling of solemn wonder.

(Kind of like the way we are in awe of our favorite actors, athletes, influencers etc.)

It’s almost as if we’ve taken the things of God for granted over time and we are in awe of people who are only sustained by the very breath of God.

I’m about to mess with your thinking now!

How many of you have been told or taught to fear the Lord?

We’ve so often been told to fear God, but does God want us to fear God?

It seems as if some scriptures say we should fear the Lord and others say fear not.

Which one is it?

The answer is both.

The real question is not about if we should or should not fear the Lord.

It’s more about what is the Bible referring to when it says to fear the Lord and what is it referring to when it says to fear not?

Exodus 20:18-20 NLT

18 When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

19 And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

20 “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

Here it is again.

Moses told the people not to be afraid of God and in the same verse he told them that their fear of God would keep them from sinning.

Question?

Are we more likely to worship someone we are afraid of or someone we are in awe of?

As time has passed and the language barriers have been studied, we have come to realize that the fear of God should be based more on being in awe of Him and not being afraid him.

Psalm 33:8 ESV

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

This is a writing style we often see in the Bible where the same thing is described in two different ways.

This fear of the Lord is also described as standing in awe of him.

Now when we ask what is the fear of the Lord we should understand that to mean what does it mean to stand in awe of God?

Now let’s look at some of the ways the Bible describes the fear of the Lord?

Psalm 111:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Whatever the fear of the Lord is, when we practice it, it leads to a praise that endures forever.

Proverbs 1:7 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

So, the fear of the Lord would include following God’s wisdom and instructions.

Proverbs 8:13 ESV

The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

The fear of the Lord would encompass hating evil because God hates evil. (This includes pride, arrogance, and even perverted speech.)

That was all introduction.

Because you can’t truly worship God without a healthy fear of God.

Point#1

Worship is the lifestyle of a believer.

Romans 12:1 NLT

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Question?

What is truly the way to worship God?

*Let our bodies be a living and holy sacrifice.

(The kind of sacrifice God finds acceptable.)

And we know Paul goes on and says not to copy the ways of the world around us.

Not the ways of those who don’t follow God closely.

Worship will include a mindset change.

The way I used to think, I can’t think anymore.

Worship is a lifestyle of surrender, reverence, and gratitude towards God.

If you can’t think of anything to be grateful to God for, remember the great exchange his righteousness for our unrighteousness.

We don’t deserve the love of God, but he gives it to us without restraint.

When you understand worship in this manner, and you read the scriptures certain things will stand out to you.

(Throughout the Old Testament, God implored his people to turn from worshipping idols and to worship him alone.)

As a matter of fact, we see that God’s punishment in the Old Testament was mostly directed at misguided worship.

If you’re watching online or here in the building, I have a very important question to ask you.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?