Worship and Stewardship

The Problem

We are often tempted to worship anything other than God. We bow down to the altar of self, money, possessions.

What we posses is what we worship.

The Temptation: To gain the world.

Mark 8:36 “36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

Toby Mac made it popular with his song, Lose My Soul.

I don’t want to gain the whole world but lose my soul.

Matthew 4:8–10 (NIV)

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

The Lie: You can have it all.

You can have everything you ever dreamed of if only you bow down and worship me.

That is Satan’s Temptation and the Lie we so often believe is you can have it all.

All you have to do is bow down and worship me.

I’ve heard it said before in pulpits that everyone worships something.

But what does that mean? Do even people who don’t believe in God worship?

Worship is a religiously loaded word. And by definition, it means to ascribe religious rites to a deity. Basically it means, showing reverence and adoration for someone/something. Placing it’s value above your own and usually at a cost to one’s self.

I truly believe that we are inherently created to worship. Not just admire, value or appreciate things, but truly worship things. That is why I believe there are many people who worship idols (things other than God himself)

That’s why the worship of false idols makes the big 10...

Exodus 20:1–6 NIV

1 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

First Command. You shall have no other gods before me.

Second Command. You shall not bow down to worship false gods…or idols.

We are all created to worship...

We sacrifice our time, treasures and talents on an altar, but what altar are we worshiping at?

What are some things that people may worship today?

Allah, Witchcraft, Fashion, Money, Possessions, Football, Hunting, Self, Power, Spouse, Kids

The temptation is to gain the whole world...

the lie is that we can have it all…but as Jim Carrey says...

Jim Carrey Quote

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”

And I think our culture knows this to be true as well. A few years ago there was a very popular musical that came out on film, and it’s a great film if you enjoy musicals… called the Greatest Showman. It Chronicled the life of P.T. Barnum and his circus. But in the film there was a performance as P.T. was wrestling through this very lie, that he could have it all. He could have the perfect life, the beautiful wife, the mistress on the side, the fame and fortune. He was beginning to believe the lie of our culture, that he could have it all. And he was sacrificing his life on a lie, he was worshiping power and influence. He was worshiping stardom. He was worshiping himself.

But the song writen for the movie makes this argument.

All the shine of a thousand spotlights All the stars we steal from the night sky Will never be enough Never be enough Towers of gold are still too little These hands could hold the world but it'll Never be enough Never be enough

It’s never enough. You will always want more.

More time, more money, more vehicles.

Jesus, in the sermon on the mount taught this...

The New International Version Chapter 6

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

It’s impossible to serve both God and Mammon.

Because what you possess will eventually possess you.

What you own…will eventually own you.

I have to work to pay my bills…

But what would happen instead of living for mammon. Bowing down to the altar of stuff and we began to truly worship the way God calls us to?

First Discipline: True Worship

True Worship

John 4:23–24 NIV

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

True worship will cost us something.

2 Samuel 24:17–25 NIV

17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.” 18 On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20 When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” “To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.” 22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.” 24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. 25 David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

we come across the story where David sinned against God again by numbering his fighting men. When God sent a plague on the land for 3 days and it wiped out 70,000 people, David realized his sin and pleaded with the Lord for him to relent against the people and have him pay for his own sin.

I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offering that cost me nothing.”

He could have accepted Araunah’s gift to his king but David understood something. When we worship God, it should cost us something. To offer a sacrifice of praise that we didn’t purchase would be worthless.

But pastor, that’s old testament. We aren’t under the old testament anymore.

Your right. We now have a Savior that paid the ultimate price for us. He gave up everything to come and take our place.

How much more, should we as Christ followers worship God. Because of his example, because of what he has done.

True worship is a sacrificial offering of love.

“I the shepherd have sinned” - He was moved by love

God wants us to offer him worship that not only costs us something but that is given from the right attitude.

Genesis 4:1–7 NIV

1 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

And the story ends with Cain killing his brother Abel because of his jealousy and anger.

Something that I never understood for the longest time was why was Abel’s offering acceptable and cain’s offering not acceptable?

The key to that answer is found in Cain’s response.

“but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast.”

That’s what makes gift giving so special. Not what the gift is, but who gave it and why they gave it.

Seriously. What means more. A gift given to you to by someone who is trying to earn your favor. “Here I bought you this because I think your for sale”

Or “here I made this for you this because I love you.”

Guys when we come to worship, we come to give our hearts to God. To bring ourselves and lay them at the feet of Jesus again.

God is seeking worshippers who will worship Him in Spirit and truth. In TRUTH …WITHOUT PRETENSION.

True worship is a response of obedience.

Listening and obeying when the Holy Spirit prompts us to do something.

Samuel 24:18-19

David was told by Gad to go and offer the sacrifice.

1 Samuel 15:22 “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

We come to church, we risk potential danger to worship God.

Are you willing to worship God no matter the cost?

The Second Discipline: Stewardship

I’ve heard it said, and there is some truth to it that if you show me your bank statement and I’ll show you what you worship.

Yes that is true, but we could also say....tell me how you spend your time and I’ll show you what you worship.

Time is a gift- Psalm 90:12

Psalm 90:12 NIV

12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

David prays “teach me to number my days…”

David is asking God to help him realize just how much longer he has. You can ask any person who is experienced, seasoned…and every single one of them will tell you just how fast time goes.

It’s almost disheartening thinking back at how fast time goes…

When thinking about just how fast time goes, many people at the end of their lives confess to the regrets they have when they look back.

In Fact- Bronnie Ware- Austrailian Nurse documented a study she conducted on the regrets of the dying and she published her findings in her book, The Top 5 Regrets of the dying.

Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Ware:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

"This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

"This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

"Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

"Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

"This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.”

Life is but a vapor- James 4:13-16

James 4:13–16 NIV

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

We don’t know what is going to happen, but help us Lord to number our days. Teach us to number our days...

Ephesians 5:13–20 NIV

13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To truly steward our time, our talents and our treasures for you. Let us worship you in truth and spirit.