Created for Worship

Worship where it is due

My kids were talking about the work they were having to accomplish this week around the dinner table on Monday night. They had a busy week both Noah and Hannah tried out for Jazz band and so spent a good amount of time practicing. Julia and Hannah had a math test in Geometry that took a significant amount of time and Noah had a essay to write and present and Hannah had a presentation to do as well. In all it was a very busy week for them all and yet as students it was pretty normal.

As they sat and talked about their week I was thinking about my own. If I were to put it into the same kind of perimeters as they did with their school work here is what I was tasked with. I had to write a 4 to 5 page essay on why the author of the book I am reading is worthy of being worshiped and then describe the methods and means of performing that worship. When put that way and don’t know that I am speaking of the Bible and it’s author, it just sounds weird and cult-ish. The claim of any author to be worthy of actual worship is scary and yet as you may have guessed the author I am speaking of is God. Therefore, the rules change a bit when you are speaking about the Author and Creator of the Universe.

However, we are doing God a disservice if we do not question our worship of God. God is not harmed by our questioning the legitimacy of worshipping Him. In fact, I believe that God is glorified even further by the inquisition because He is worthy of the worship and therefore the search will only make us more aware of that worthiness.

So why is God worthy of worship? Because He is the creator. Why is creation such a worship worthy action? Because without it we don’t exist. Creation is the first and best reason to worship God. You can look around at the world and call it all just an accident or you can see it for what it is; a beautiful and intelligently design creation created by a God who loves us and wants to see us thrive. When we look back to the very beginning we find God and in His infinite wisdom He chose to create. We are that creation and we live in the world and domain of the creator God. God didn’t have to create; from eternity past and into eternity future He would be no lesser of a god if He chose not to create but instead He chose to create. On day 6 God who had spent the previous 5 days creating the world and everything on it looked around and decided it wasn’t finished yet and he said, Then God said,’ Read Gen. 1:26-30

Our creation is worthy of worship but creation itself is worthy of worship. “Colossians 1:16 states, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” and Revelation 4:11 furthers God’s creative power by falling down before Him and worshiping, ““You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

Is God worthy of our worship? Well if this is true that my entire existence is on account of His desire to create and to make me in His image then yes, absolutely God is worthy of my worship. Throughout the Bible we see God’s followers worshiping God because He is worthy of it. This is what we find Cain and Abel doing in Gen. 4 before Cain get’s jealous of Abel's better act of worship. Noah worshiped God after he exited the Ark, Moses worshiped God in the wilderness, David worshiped God throughout his life and recorded it in the Psalms. Every one in the Old Testament who feared God and kept His commands worshiped God and that obedience was part of their worship. Worship continued in the New Testament through songs, prayer, and obedience. God is worthy of all worship because without God there is no US. Worship of God continues to this day because Christians recognize not only that God is our creator but also that God is our Savior and it is an act of our spiritual worship or a reasonable service that we should give to God. Read Romans 12:1

Worship: our Chief End

OK, Pastor I get it so we are supposed to worship God got it. Isn’t that why I am here today? Aren’t I worshiping God just by coming to church and singing a few songs? Yes you are but let me tell you that’s not enough. It is not enough to just show up one day a week for a couple of hours and worship God. God is worthy of more of our time. How much time you ask? Well, hold on to your pants everyone but the answer is; God the author and creator of everything is worthy of being worshiped every second of every day by all those who call Him their Lord and Savior. How can God demand that much worship? Well, let me state the facts again; without God we don’t exist. The church has said as much throughout history. We don’t speak much about the Westminster Confession of Faith in our Baptist traditions but it has a lot to say about the fundamentals of our faith in God. In this document written first in the 1600’s attempted to ask and answer the questions about faith in God. The very first question asked in it is this, “Quest. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man?” And the answer is: “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him for ever.” Worship is the chief end of man. Our first and last thought should be how can I bring Glory to God who has given me life? The Puritan Pastor and Theologian Thomas Watson in his book, “A body of Divinity” Stated that our worship is “ the yearly rent we pay to the crown of heaven.” According to Watson our worship rent is to be given to God through, “1: Appreciation, 2. Adoration, 3. Affection, 4. Subjection.”

1: Appreciation

We are to Appreciate God as our God in our thoughts, our actions and with our whole being according to Watson. Listen as Watson describes this Appreciation, “There is in God all that may draw forth both wonder and delight; there is a constellation of all beauties; he is prima causa [The first Cause of all things.], the original and springhead of being, who sheds a glory upon the creature. We glorify God, when we are God-admirers; admire his attributes, which are the glistering beams by which the divine nature shines forth; his promises which are the charter of free grace, and the spiritual cabinet where the pearl of price is hid; the noble effects of his power and wisdom in making the world, which is called ‘the work of his fingers.’ Psa 8:8. To glorify God is to have God-admiring thoughts; to esteem him most excellent, and search for diamonds in this rock only.” I love that last line “search for diamonds in this rock only” If we are to appreciate our God in the way that He is worthy of we will not find or search for glory anywhere else.

This is where original sin found its foothold. When the serpent tempted Eve and then Eve brought that temptation to Adam that they could be like God. They stopped worshiping God alone and started worshiping themselves as being like God. And from that time forward the curse of sin has kept us from worshiping God and instead we worship ourselves.

2. Adoration

We are to Adore God. To adore God is much more than just appreciate Him. On a much simpler scale I appreciate a good pork chop but I adore a well cooked prime rib. I appreciate most holidays but I adore Christmas. I like most people but I adore my wife. What makes the difference? It is ascribe worth and a emotional attachment. We can spend time appreciating the love and watchcare of God but that doesn’t mean that we adore Him. Adoration for God comes when we ascribe Him the worth that He is due, when we learn to praise Him when times are good and when times aren’t so good and when we desire to love Him more than we love ourselves.

This is a love that goes beyond simple knowledge. “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Eph. 3:19. Speaking about this verse the great preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “The love of Christ in its sweetness, its fulness, its greatness, its faithfulness, passeth all human comprehension. Where shall language be found which shall describe his matchless, his unparalleled love towards the children of men? It is so vast and boundless that, as the swallow but skimmed the water, and dives not into its depths, so all descriptive words but touch the surface, while depths immeasurable lie beneath… Herein is love! and truly it is love that “passeth knowledge.” O let this love fill our hearts with adoring gratitude, and lead us to practical manifestations of its power. (C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening:)

It is not enough to just know God, it is not enough to just appreciate God, His power and glory is deserving of our Adoration. He is worthy to be adored.

3. Affection

We are to show affection toward God. Again this is a deepening of our love for God it is a love that encompasses the whole of our being. This is how Moses told Israel to love the Lord. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4–5. This is the type of love that put’s your wants and desires aside because loving and serving God is of more importance. Thomas Watson whose list if you remember this is said this, “This love is exuberant, not a few drops—but a stream! This love is superlative; we give God the best of our love, the cream of it… Thus to love God is to glorify him. He who is the chief of our happiness, has the chief of our affections!”

4. Subjection

We are to put ourselves in subjection to God. This is submissiveness. This is realizing that we are under God’s authority and that as His subjects we are suppose to obey His will. Submission and subjection aren’t exactly natural traits for us as human beings. We naturally want our wills met our desires fulfilled. However, this is not how God wants us to behave as believers.

I know that if you are here today and you are not a Christian this is one of those weird Christian things that you might not completely understand. Why would Christians willingly place themselves under subjection to God and His rules. In fact that seems pretty strange because from the outside looking in it seems like we Christians are giving up on the freedom to do what you want when you want and instead place ourselves into slavery to God. Now let me tell you that you aren’t far off with that idea. One of the men of the Bible who we love to quote because he wrote a good portion of the New Testament, Paul, often called himself a slave of God. Romans 1:1 “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God” Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:” Titus 1:1 “Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,” Philemon 1 “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer,” What Paul meant by this was that he was willing to place himself under the authority of God because to do so was better than the alternative.

The alternative to being a Christian and finding faith in Christ Jesus as our Lord is not freedom it is slavery to sin. Sin is a hard prison and one that does not show any care or love. Instead sin only brings with it brokenness and consequences, and if you have been living a life of sin then you know exactly what I mean. When you give your life to Christ, accept Him as your savior, and ask for forgiveness of your sins then you are given mercy. Your sins are wiped clean and the longer you learn to put yourself under subjection to the Lord the less and less brokenness and consequences you will face, not because your sin no longer has consequences but because your desire for sin will lesson and you will learn to obey Christ more and more.

So there you have it we are created to Worship God. I have laid out the case for worshiping the Lord the best that I can. Now we need to determine what it looks like on an everyday basis.

Worship Applied

The practicality of worshiping God with our whole being can be a daunting task especially seeing how we are prone to worshiping ourselves more than anything else. Therefore we have to put into place worshipful habits which point away from us and point toward God.

Obedient

The first of these worshipful habits is obedience. We need to be obedient to God’s will. This means that we listen to the truths of scripture, we apply it to our lives and we seek to make it apart of our everyday routines. Psalm 119:11–12 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes.”

Part of that obedience is what we are doing right now; we are listening to the Word being taught and we are applying it to our lives. Each Sunday when you are here in these pews listening to a sermon you are worshiping God through your obedience to the Lord. This is part of the submissiveness and subjection that we spoke of just a few mins. ago. The hard part is the doing. You see it is easy for us to say that we are submissive to God and that we are willing to be put under subjection to His will, the hard part comes when God clearly says to Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” You see that means that you can’t pass off your call to evangelize to the pastor or a missionary, it is a call on your life that you are to fulfill. Worshiping God means being obedient to Him.

Prayer

The second is prayer. By praying we are recognizing that there is a God who knows more then we do and that not only does He exist but that He cares for you and me. He actually delights in us. Read Isaiah 62:3-5.

If you have ever fallen in love then you get this rejoicing that God has for you. When Rachel and I were dating we had to do it long distance because she lived in Oregon and I lived in Colorado. The only thing we had was phone calls. But I lived for those phone calls. I would wait every night for that call and we would spend hours talking because we rejoiced in each others voice. This is the kind of delight and rejoicing that God wants to have with you. He wants you to long for a conversation with Him because He longs to have a conversation with you. Worship God in Prayer

Song

The third is through song. You can sing of the glory of God anywhere and while doing pretty much anything. Back when I was in-between churches selling fish in the Kroger seafood department I would begin most days with a song of praise as I drove to work. I would try to keep that song on the top of my mind throughout the day and continue singing that song whenever possible. However, while worshiping God alone can be beneficial it is not how we are expected to worship God. In Col. 3:16 Paul is writing to the church in Colosse and his instruction to the church is to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” This was a command for the church to sing out together and in doing so they will also teach and instruct all the believers how to worship God. That is amazing! Every Sunday as we come together we are teaching and admonishing one another through the very act of singing together. When we sing these songs, and hymns they aren’t just words on a page or the screen but they are teachings and admonishings that drive us to know God and to worship Him as God together. So sing! Sing out and teach and learn of the Glory of God. And what teachings the songs and hymns bring us. Listen to the beauty of the lyrics in the hymn “Before the throne of God Above”

When Satan tempts me to despair,

and tells me of the guilt within,

upward I look and see Him there

who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,

my sinful soul is counted free;

for God the Just is satisfied

to look on Him and pardon me; (Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863)

Find a song that teaches you about God and makes your heart rejoice in Him and then Worship God in Song.

Giving

The forth way we worship is by giving back to God a portion of what He has given us. We are going to spend more on this subject in a few weeks but I want to briefly give you an explanation of why what you give is an act of worship. You work hard for the money and things that you have and yet when you give back to the Lord you are acknowledging that all that you have has been given to you by God first. Our act of giving acknowledges God’s existence, God’s power, and God’s sovereignty over all even you and your wealth of time, talents, and money. Worship God through your giving.

Everything

Lastly we worship God in everything that we do. Worship isn’t just a Sunday morning thing, worship isn’t just a prayer time thing, worship isn’t just a tithing, or singing, or Bible reading thing. Worship is an all the time, Awe of God, Adoring Him with all that we are, placing Him as preeminent over our whole lives kind of thing. So let us worship God with all that we are.