Bend Your Knees
Come to Worship • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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COME TO WORSHIP—4
BOW YOUR KNEES
How did the gingerbread man end up with one leg? He lost the other in NomNomNom
What do you call a butchers conference? A meeting
4 postures worship, Lifted hands * Gifts * Poured out hearts * Bowing (Kneeling)
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10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
10 When [the wisemen] saw the star, they were overjoyed.
Why were the excited? because they had waited centuries upon centuries for God to send a messiah and they believed this to be the moment.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Matt 2:10-11
When we envision this moment, we picture the wise men bowing down around a baby Jesus, but not so, he was probably around 2 years of age….
Not a baby—toddler! Around 2.
It changes the dynamic of the story…. how many of you...Have a 2-yr old? Had a 2 yr old? Around 2-yr old?
People like to Judge parents for banging table, throwing fork and you pick them up…. they go limp… you try to set them down…. no way… and they think… when I’m a parent… I got this all figured out… but when you have your own 2 year old or 5 of them… they just wear you down...
I’ll give you whatever you want… just shut up… candy… eat all you want….
Buck up i will buy you a pony...
Comedian: Like tiny, crazy, crackheads.
Stained clothes, toothless, crazy—I’m a cat—liar
Kind of gross—crackers in nose.
No other creature alive that will do like a two year old….
Look you in the eye—take dump. (I poop pooed)
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All this to say when the wise men bowed down, they kneeled before a 2 year old...
Let me talk to you about kneeling in the presence of God…. its kind of like lifting your hands…. it pushes you out of your comfort zone….
Men—not likely—probably kneel only two times in your life….Propose or football picture (Girls bending) (Leg pop)
Culturally speaking we don’t go around kneeling… but when you look at the word of God you can see tons of opportunities to kneel in humble submission to the awe of God...
Look at what the Psalmist said...
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6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Ps 95:6-7 (Psalmist)
Hebrew word translated as worship—shakkah—170X—bow down,to kneel in worship
Not just worship, but it gives you the posture in which we are to worship...
I believe one of the reasons that we do not kneel in worship culturally is because we don’t truly understand the holiness of God.
IF we understood just how holy he is, we would want to be low before him in worship….
So holy is God you cannot look upon him and live...
Moses—hide face and could only see the tail of his robe...
In fact only High priest could go into the holy of holies and only once a year, because they believed he was so holy that you couldn’t look upon God and live...—rope
Want to know something amazing… there isn’t a single place in the Bible that God tells us to bow down to him, its as if he assumes we already will because he tells us not to bow down t anything else… its almost as if he assumes once we know who he is we will bow down before him...
I want to inspire you to come to worship… to lift up holy hands…to bring your gifts….to pour out your heart, and every now and then to kneel before him… and say God I want more of you and less of me...
God so loved the world that he became one of us...
That he loved us so much that he became one of us, and he came before us...
Give you 3 reasons…
KNEEL BEFORE HIM [
KNEEL IN PURSUIT.
Story in mark of a really rich Guy… and he was missing something and its as if everyone knew it….
1
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
7 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Mark 10:17
I’ve taught this many times and always read over his posture… he literally fell on his knees before Jesus…. he had everything everyone else wants but he was missing what everyone needs...
Some of you are at that place in your life, you aren’t a committed follower of Jesus, you know him, and you kind of accept him, but you aren’t following him with your whole heart..
Maybe you could just kneel seeking him out… you don’t get it… you kneel and ask him to reveal himself to you… ask… God reveal yourself to me...
Be cautious because
Draw near to Him—He’ll draw near to you.
Some of you may have already pursued him and you don’t need to kneel in pursuit but you need to...
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KNEEL IN REPENTANCE.
Christmas is a huge magnifier… it makes the good times really good and the bad times really bad… and if you have done something against someone you love… it makes it really heavy.
Weight of sin—heavy.
Some of you are smiling on the outside but hurting on the inside….
Powerful example in Like 5:8….Peter a fisherman…. they’re out fishing...
Didn’t catch fish—Jesus comes out and says...other side (imagine that, fish—won’t see us here)
You the carpenter… I know what I’m doing.. I got this… leave me alone… but he does it… and there are so many fish the net is breaking and he looks up and says oooooh I didn’t know who you were...
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” Luke 5:8 NLT
In an act of repentance he doesn’t ask for more… he says get away from me… and here is the great news… Jesus never turns away a sinner with a repentant heart… some of you thought you would never be back in church.. but you are here hoping the building doesn’t collapse on you….
Some of you need to fall on your knees and ask for forgiveness and he will cleanse you of those sins...
Oh Holy Night—Fall on your knees.
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Confess your sins—God is faithful and just
Fisher of men—Peter left everything
Kneeling before Christ empowers you to stand before men.
Some of you want to kneel in pursuit… kneel in repentance.. some kneel in
KNEEL IN SUBMISSION.
I love UFC fighting… I know there is something wrong with me… I get it… anyone else love it?
IF you get someone in a hold… what do they do?—tap—Give up!
Some of you refuse to tap… God is calling you to tap and give in.. and you say I want it my way…. give it to me this way… and you won’t surrender to his plan for you which is much better than your plan for you...
and that is what is crazy, is Jesus did this… he was born to die… he was born to tap out… he knew what was coming and he never sinned against God… he literally became everything you have done wrong…
So much so that God turned his face and looked away… and Jesus knew this was coming and he never left...
41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
41 [Jesus] withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond [his disciples], knelt down and prayed,42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:41-42
Some of you need to pray that today… not my will but your will be done… I surrender...
Some people say how do you keep going in the face of opposition… and you can say kneeling to pray is what gives you the strength to stand….
For some of you you need to lift your hands in worship… some of you need to drop to your knees to worship him….. its all about a posture of worship before the king..
Can I let you in on a secret?
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YOU CAN KNEEL NOW OR YOU CAN KNEEL LATER
You are going to kneel…. but are you going to do it now, or when it is too late to make a difference?
Here is what the bible teaches us...
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:8-11
Our god never asked us to bow before him because he knew that when we knew who he was that our only response would be to bow down and worship him…he is that good...
Worship…. I want to give you the chance to bow down and worship him...
Extra song Here...
Back up for Altar… You have a choice… now… or later… people say they don’t get a choice later… no way…