Praising God, as His People

Worship must be authentic. Robert Webber, Professor of Ministry at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Ill, recently said, “[worship] doesn’t have to be excellent; it has to be real.” (—Virginia Baptists’ Weekly, October 11, 2001, p. 1). One commentator states:

It isn’t about snazzy PowerPoint, cool tunes or moving drama.

Worship is an act of connecting a primal part of our souls to our Creator.

It has more to do with what happens in our hearts than on the stage in our sanctuary.

It cannot be orchestrated or scripted because it is so personal.

It begins with brokenness and moves to celebration as the gospel infiltrates our frail condition.

It is nice if the singers hit the high notes, the pastor is eloquent and the instruments are properly tuned. But without the connection of God to man, even the most “excellent” service is a waste of time. It has to be real, in spirit and in truth.

Jesus said in John 4:24 NASB “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Jim Wilson, 1000 Fresh Illustrations (WORDsearch, 2004).T

Today’s message taken from Psalm 95 is about worship. Our passage is a psalm of praise. Interesting is that it comes with a warning; a warning against unbelief.

True worship requires faith. And that faith will be tested by feelings, lack of sleep, situations you’re going through, and distractions. Some of you could tell me how many ceiling tile are across and how many there are lengthwise. But you are wasting your time by counting ceiling tile.

A speaker several years ago sadly told us how little the Bible verses she memorized affected her later in life. Does that reveal a problem with the Bible or her?

Faithlife Study Bible states:

“Psalm 95 is mostly a call to worship and a historical reflection on Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness. The psalmist begins by calling people to worship the Lord and sing to Him as the sovereign king over all creation (vv. 1–5).

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Psalm 95

David (Heb 4:7) exhorts men to praise God for His greatness, and warns them, in God’s words, against neglecting His service.

Another commentator points out: “This psalm opens with an exuberant hymn and ends with God’s warning to listen to His voice and obey Him.” (The New Geneva Study Bible, 860). So this morning, let’s think about worship. First, ...

We praise God with an outward display of thought and feeling.

In Psalm 95:1-2, we see that there are a list of commands given. These commands are to sing, to shout and to give thanks. Each of these we are not predisposed to do. And one could even say that they are not going to do this, because of embarrassment. But the world does not want you to do anything that you do not feel like doing. Yet some things must be done, regardless of our feelings.

The Pharisees were indignant on the day Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Luke 19:39-40

Luke 19:39–40 ESV

39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

And so consider the call to worship in Psalm 95: Notice the verbs.

Psalm 95:1–2 (ESV)

1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

This psalm suggests a number of actions regardless of feeling. What is worship? It is ascribing worth to our God. And this psalm gives the reason that we should ascribe to Him worth:

He is a great God and a great king above all gods (verse 3).

There are many things which separate the world’s concepts of God and that which is revealed about Him in Scripture. One place to look is Paul’s speech in Athens on Mars Hill. He states in Acts 17:22-28

Acts 17:22–28 (ESV)

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

“ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’...

Daniel Fuller states that one of the way that the God of the Bible is unlike all the other concepts of god is that Our God works on our behalf. He defends. He protects. He provides and He redeems!

We are saved by works- His work! Jesus’ redeeming work on the cross.

This ought to invoke worship in us. Maybe you remember the story of David’s wife Michal expressing contempt for the king because he danced before the ark. 2 Samuel 6:16-17

2 Samuel 6:16–17 (ESV)

“As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.”

As she later addressed him, David said: “I will celebrate before the Lord.” And God judged her with barrenness.

We ought to be careful of our criticisms. We can comment from our own preference and sense of comfort, which both may have little to do with actual worship.

And it is perfectly fine to say Amen or not. It is perfectly fine to raise your hands, or not. Secondly...

We praise God because He is mighty.

His work as Creator is second to none and incredible. Psalm 95:4-5 This is why we should “ascribe to the Lord greatness.”

Psalm 95:4–5 ESV

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Reading other passages that expound on the greatness of God like Psalm 139 and Isaiah 40, we are reminded how small we are and how big God is.

Science tries to answer the question how; but faith answers the question why. And the best that some scientist can do is that it all happened by chance and that there is no purpose surrounding the design in nature.

On May 5, 1961, John H. Glenn entered his spacecraft, Freedom 7, in America’s attempt to beat the Russians in the race to space. He brought a Bible along with him. As he peered through the small window of his capsule, he looked out on the enormity of the universe and on the delicate fragility of our own Earth. He felt the presence of the ‘Hand of Almighty God’ as he recited from the first chapter of Genesis.”

http://www.artscroll.com/Chapters/jthh_001.html) Jim Wilson, 1000 Fresh Illustrations (WORDsearch, 2004).

God created everything that we see by speaking it into existence. That ought to dumbfound you. Hebrews 11:3

Hebrews 11:3 ESV

3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

We praise God because He is loving and kind.

But faith not only ascribes greatness to God, but it also gives His disposition. He is loving and kind. He is a personal God who is patient and merciful.

Jesus reveals the character of the Father in Luke 6:35

Luke 6:35 ESV

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Psalm 95:7 (ESV)

7 For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

This sheep and shepherd imagery shows up elsewhere in Scripture, such as Psalm 23

Psalm 23 (ESV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

And of course Jesus said in John 10: 14

John 10:14 (ESV)

14 I am the good shepherd.

So what should your attitude towards worship be? I would venture to say that too many are not about ascribing greatness to God, but come looking to get something out of the service; asking the question: “What did this do for me?” as if entertainment or satisfaction were the goal of a worship experience. This is self-centered and will always leave you underwhelmed. In contrast, the attention should be upon God!

But we must never take God for granted by complaining and offending Him through sin.

But the there is a warning stated in Psalm 95:7-9

Psalm 95:7–9 (ESV)

Today, if you hear his voice,

8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

9 when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

What happened at Meribah and Massah? A few verses from the Pentateuch record the following:

Exodus 17:7 “And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’”

And it goes down in history as a place that the people complained against God, even though He was kind to them and provided everything they needed. Deuteronomy 6:16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.”

Paul would use the Israelites as an example of how not to treat God in 1 Corinthians 10:5-11, citing how he judged them for their grumbling, immorality and idolatry. Verse six states: “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. and, “...they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come."

We often don’t think of God’s wrath, but it is stated clearly here. In fact, it said that he loathed that generation of Israelites that had grumbled against him and rebelled.

If we are not careful, we can only see God for what He does for us in the immediate sense and not what He has done for us in Christ. We are tied to the physical and often forget the spiritual. We look to God to provide us with a cushy life, full of comfort and pleasure, rather than feeding our soul and developing our faith in Him. This is dangerous. We think God owes us.

No, rather, we owe everything to Him, including obedience.

John Kenneth Galbraith was a 20th century economist who advised presidents. In his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family’s housekeeper:

It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. “Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson.”

“He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him.”

“Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him.”

“No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you. When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. “Tell that woman I want her here in the White House.”

We owe the same type of unfettered obedience to God.