Getting Unstuck: Pathway #2 - Worship

Good morning church. Today's reading is from the first Chronicle.

chapter 16 verses 8 through 13

giving praise to the Lord Proclaim his name make known among nations. That's what he has done. Nothing to him sing praise to him. How old are tis wonderful pack flooring in His holy name that the hearts of those who seek the Lord and rejoice look to the Lord and his strength seek his face. Always remember the Wonders. He has done his miracles and judgments. She pronounced you his servant the descendants of Israel his chosen ones the children of Jacob.

Thea is the word of the Lord be with you today.

those of you who are young and spry and make it up and down the stairs without even thinking about it. Probably didn't realize that our elevator is one of the things out today and so I just want to give us a thank you to those of you who are are more senior Saints to work your way down and have to work away back up a staircase at the end so that you could be here for worship. I wanted to call Miss Anita this morning and tell her you don't need to come will have somebody else read scripture problem is she was already here.

Stopped birth, and I'm so thankful for you and me for all of you that braved this morning to be able to do this.

Bring me talking about worship this morning and about what the Bible has to say about worship and the way in which worship is actually something that helps us get unstuck in our walk with God self. Let me pray for us, and then we will take a look at a bunch of different passages again like we did last week. We're going to try to do it with the ology and worship here this morning, so we'll be all over the place. Obviously. We can't cover every passage but will cover some big ones to Heavenly Father. Thank you again for this morning. Thank you for your good for your goodness to it and Gathering is here. Thank you that there are those that are not able to make it this morning, but are still able to worship and pray that you would receive Glory from all of it pray that you would help us as we enter into your word to leave this time with a greater love for you and a greater. Love for each other are these things in Jesus name?

So as we dive into the tax, and we talked about worship again that the first thing that we probably should do is to find what we mean by worship those who they were here for Sunday school. You heard of that position. I don't expect you to have memorized yet. So I'll repeat it again and those of you that you weren't able to get here for Sunday school will get to hear it now. Worship is a response to that which the heart Treasures. Worship is a response to that which we are treasure. So worship can be of anything that your heart is treasure. And many of us at various points in our lives have treasured things that are not. We would call that idolatry. However, there is something called proper worship worship. The the way worship was intended to be and that is our response again spring from a hard that Treasures the Triune God. So we sang this morning praise praise the father praise the son and praise the spirit three-in-one. That's that's who we're talking about.

Worship is our response to treasuring him.

In our passages first carnivals this morning. We see a ton of ways that worship happens and I just want to take you there and walk you through the passage so which is the all the different ways did this comes out starts off give thanks to the Lord is one way you can worship God you can worship God by thanking him. Call Tani snake when you're in trouble. Could you call out to? Call upon his name. That's worship because it makes it known that where your confidence lies in times of trouble him. Make known his wondrous Deeds among the peoples. Worship is not something that is to be kept to ourselves. Where should be intended to be something that spring from a heart and it says a response and so making known what God has done helps to extend our worship outside myself. Maybe even to those who don't know what.

Higgins has some that are more prevalent in our understanding of worship sing to him like that. Tell of all his wondrous Works giving testimony to what God has done is a form of worship. Glory in His. Holy name just pondering the goodness and the glory of God doesn't have to be a big showing thing. It can just be sitting there looking out over a beautiful sunset or I remember in Black Hills sitting there looking out over this this range of a Hills that we could see and just seeing deer in the distance and the Sun and also they went down and we're still sitting out there. We saw the stars come out and man it was glorious cuz there was no other way around and so you could see so many more of them. And so we can read in his name. But the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Let it says in verse 11 seek the Lord in his truck. So again, this is seeking seeking the Lord and rejoicing seeking the Lord and his strength. We don't do things on our own our worship comes out in the seek him. We know that everything we need is in him. We seek his presence or seek his face continually. Worship sometimes is very out there and active and telling other people and sometimes it's in the Solitude of our own mind. Remember the Wonders Works he is. It can be good. Especially if it's busy as life is for many of us to just sit there for a little bit and remember. Don't let life pass you by Worship the Lord by thinking. Thinking about what it is that he has done.

The worship comes in a lot of different forms even in just this one text.

Who should worship? well Revelation 5:13 and 14 gives a description of what John was seeing as worship was happening in heaven and he says this I heard every creature in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and in the sea and all in them. Saying to him who sits on the throne and to the land be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever in the four living creatures that amen and the elders fell down and worshipped.

Imagine if you went to the zoo. And instead of just hearing the animals sitting there making a little brunch in noises. They were calling out to him who sits on the throne and amazing to hear.

Imagine what it would be like if God. allowed Every Creature to lift up blade The sound itself would be definitely to our ears.

But he made everything. Until everything is designed to be able to praise him. No, I mentioned earlier the idea that if we don't bring them to the very rocks could cry out and praise him. Certainly any creature that God has made good praise.

So who can worship? In that sense anything but here's the amazing.

He designed us to be able to consciously worship. It wouldn't take a special act where dog would have to. Create vocal cords where there are none in a fish to be able to hear him praise. He designed us to be able to worship.

You could go so far as to say we were created to worship.

When did the song has In His Image? He designed us for worship is where we hear about this. Isaiah 43 7 a very common one

He's calling his people together because everyone is called by my name whom I created for my glory who I formed and made that we got to establish the connection between glory and worship. One of the things about God that's amazing because if he is the most glorious there is nothing better for us to focus on then. There's not even something better for God to focus on man God and so his glory bringing notice and attention to the amazingness of God. Is part of what we do and worship we glorify him. We be magnified Kim. A year and Isaiah. She says why did I create people when we learn in Genesis wanted that God said let us make man in our image male and female he created them right sucks. We know that God created Humanity.

Everyone who called by my name I created for my glory. God designed people. four glorious worship How often should we? Approach God in the center and worship welcome we do. Is it just When We Gather here? Or is it bigger than that? 1st Corinthians, 10:31, whether you eat or drink do to the glory of God because we're no longer just saying when you come to church when you hear a really good worship song on the radio when you're feeling particularly worshipful. Bring glory to God. No, There is a way. To drink a glass of orange juice in the morning to the glory of God.

How do you do that? How do I get a bowl of Cheerios to the glory of God? What would happen? Who gave you that sucks? You say oh I went to Aldi in. I don't believe they didn't provide all they did was gather everything that God has already set up and start to put it into forms for you to consume.

So one of the ways you can glorify God even something as simple as eating and drinking is acknowledging who got you the stuff. Thank you for this food. Thank you for your provision for we're doing that so that we can fulfill 1st Corinthians 10:31. We're trying to say okay, we're going to eat and drink but we don't just wanting you to drink cuz we're thirsty and hungry we wouldn't drink because we want to glorify you. So we stopped before this is all from

But there's more to it even than that. You may not like Cheerios in, Oregon. You may be a vegetarian in this example will completely go over your head.

bacon

I think bacon is a fantastic food things we've design.

When are you enjoy a good piece of bacon? I'm acknowledging the fact that not only did someone. Cook this thing but God made the tape came from and she gave me didn't have to do that. He could rule without their I could fill my tummy with and it said he has no I'm going to let you two something glorious when I'm glorifying God. Am I eating not just horrifying for the provision. He goes far beyond that. He gives us the amazing ability to actually enjoy the gift. He's given us.

It is not just a matter of God doing the bare minimum for us. We can glorify him because he always seems to go above and beyond.

So we're graded to worship created us for his glory supposed to do all things for his glory. Is there something unique about Christians and how they glorify God. If everybody glorifies him to some degree because he made them. Maybe this because he sustains them. Is there something unique about Christians? Ephesians 1:11 and 12 are in him being Christ We have a pain and inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. So that we were the first to Hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

It's all getting at here in a fusions. How is it that we are uniquely designed to be able to praise God. because of Christ You think about it? It makes perfect sense. all of us at one point separated from. We thought we could do it on her own. Even from the time. We were born we were born with sin nature.

But it's some if you're a Believer here this morning. God rescued you God saved you. Want you back?

Any decisions here we see he did that because he has a plan to do that. Since we were we were predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the council's as well. God said I want to do this. This is my will and everything. I will I do and so little time before any of us came to him and he was like, I want to say Glory thought he wanted to see What are you created Humanity? We were good for a little bit. And then we messed it all up and said, you know what plan. Let's let's start over again. This one didn't work. So well. No, I never had a plan from before he even created he had already known the end from the beginning and known what would happen. It said that's okay because I want to save. So even though they go far from me I will draw them back.

So that we were the first to Hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. One of the key ways we worship we worship God for salvation. the fact that he saves causes in the Christian part of desire to worship Him

Romans 11:36 the last verse we'll look at on your created for worship.

Romans 11:36 says for from him and through him and to him. Are all the glory forever? so God gave everything it's all from him. He sustains everything so everything that happens is through him. They're all designed to bring Glory back to him. and it's supposed to last for that's an amazing thing. There is nothing else that you can come across that was around to start everything up sustained everything bring everything back together and then you make that last forever. God is glorious and worthy of worship because he's involved in every step along the way. Why do you exist God created you? Why are you here? Because God is sustaining week. We look at the laws of nature. And yes, there are but in terms of what keeps everything going. If God didn't say Let there still be gravity. There would not be grabbing right? It is not here because everything just magically happened on its own is here because God designed it that way and he sustains it that way.

How can we trust that I can last forever?

And therefore whatever he wants to happen doesn't have a timeline that stop it goes on as he goes.

God created you to worship him not just a little bit and not just on Sunday morning. He created you to worship him to bring him glory.

how

how do you wash a pull up the first Chronicles half it certainly gave a lot of different ways we could do it, but I just want to point out some things specifically in terms of worship that are Pick sheet understand one we worship God. Enjoy. there is a level two which rejoicing can happen because God is

and rejoice in can happen because of what God has done both who he is and what he's done joy to spring up in our hearts.

Talk about this in Sunday school briefly, but we can also worship limit.

Many times God meets with us in some of our poets times we call out to him and he walked with us through it. He sees us through it in such a way that he draws worship from us as we see no one else could get us through but Don

just funny. I received a text from Pastor dawn after he was unshoveled yesterday and Guess it's not the Cupid Shuffle. I won't he do it.

When we meet need when we have things that we cannot do when we cannot see a way to get around it are confident. You said she can

so when we are lamenting we Lament The sad state of our own soul. And the sad state of the world infected by sin. And we long for a better place. And we long for sure soul and a day will come when it's Revelation says there will be no crying No More Tears because lament won't be needed anymore cuz it's in won't be around.

Yes, we were supposed song love that. Delta worship and prayer we worship God is how we speak to him?

But more than just our feeling Joy or Love Our Song our prayer. We worship with our life it if the point earlier is true that we were created to worship and in 1st Corinthians. 10:31 is right that we should do all things for his glory and every bit of Our Lives is designed to be worship.

It is Who We Are. We are designed to be worshippers.

Problem is sometimes you can get into this idea that if I just do the things that I'm supposed to do the night worship. I came on Sunday morning humor is Coal Mine song by free prayers.

Listen to Isaiah 29 13.

Isaiah 29:13 says this the Lord said because this people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips while their hearts are far from me and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.

Next verse says I won't hear it. Will hear it. The hard is where it matters. They were proclaiming the right things. They were saying the right things but their hearts weren't there their hearts were far from him. And the only reason they put on this show. It's cuz of the Commandment that other people gave them to do do this. Don't do that. Make sure you do that. God says know what I want is a heart that loves me a hard little baby cousin.

Heart matters the psalmist expresses it in so many places. I'll just look at 1. Psalms 111 verse 1 praise the Lord. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. In the company of the upright in the congregation.

If you gather for worship and you are feeling a bit half-hearted and you come anyhow, because you know, it's good to know. It's going to be an issue because that tends to be where God leads with us stores us but you're not really feeling it with your heart. You know, what you should do, and do the things that God called you to do.

But all the while I pray Lord Crock-Pot hard and changing make me loved this. God has different levels of which she works in our hearts. Dutiful obedience is better than NADA way.

joy-filled obedience is better than

we want to be able to do things because our hearts are still filled with joy that we can't help to do it.

Even if your heart's not there yet. gather praise praise Lament and say God would you do what I can't do can you make my heart and love this?

What makes the heart connect rightly with God? How is it that our hearts actually connected in his lordship to Spring from our heart and yet? There's so many different things. We can do that our hearts might feel like they're close to God, but we might not be that close to him.

Jesus was speaking to someone who is an outside. to the Jewish people and he says to her in John 4:23. The hour is coming and now is here when true worshippers will worship the father in spirit and in truth. The father is seeking such people to worship Him. This tells us something key about how we worship. We don't just worship. However, we feel like worshipping. We worship in spirit and in truth. What does that mean. In Austrian worship? This is amazing. The Triune God is who were treasury when we worship and the Holy Spirit part of that Triune God into Wells us and gives us the ability to do what we're supposed to do my charger. Even your worship Springs Ford because the spirit enable.

But the spirit doesn't just work. independently It works in connection with God's revelation. And so we don't just Worship in spirit we worship in spirit and in truth.

So if you want to know what worship should look like and what it shouldn't. You need to know what the truth is. I need to know the words. This this ties in worship with only talked about last week in biblical engagement. You engage the Bible. You'll know the truth and the worship will spring from the spirit working that truth in you to the point where it comes out as worship.

There's some examples in the scriptures that are pretty strange. There was one where the Ark of the Covenant was being moved and it started to tip and somebody reached out.

and die because he did when he wasn't supposed to do in that moment. I can save God's thing. God said, I don't know if I think it's not going to fall y'all could turn it upside down and carry it and it's not going to fall. I don't want to do.

So there are things that God expresses true that he expresses about how he wants worship happen and we should take note of that. We should have just worship. However, we feel like we should Worship in connection with the word the words that do this do it. Don't do it. That way we shouldn't do it that way.

It's a word that's not speak clearly to it. We can decide do we go with the idea that we only do the things that it says yes to or do we say yes to the thing is that it doesn't mean there's a difference there. But as much as you can argue over that the reality of it is God's word is pretty clear on the gases in the nose so we can at least start there.

I mentioned earlier that all of life is designed to be worship. all of the we are so does the bible ever speak? Of this idea of it. Yes, it's your heart. But it's not just your heart.

Answer, of course. It's yes Bibles really good about giving us lots of things. Romans 12 verse 1 I appeal to you therefore Brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a Living Sacrifice. Holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Okay, so we got to break this down to understand what it's really saying here because this sounds pretty weird. How is it that we function like him and Old Testament sacrifice, but we don't die in the process cuz in the old days the sacrifice would have been presented on the altar killed and an end portal.

It says here. We're supposed to present our bodies.

as a Living Sacrifice What happened to the animal is that it died died? What happens to us as living sacrifices as we die to ourselves? We are no longer the ones who claim the authority over our lives.

Die to self and live to Christ. It is no longer live Hall says, but Christ Within Me.

So we are a Living Sacrifice in that we now with the anointing of the Holy Spirit are designed to live sacrificially for God always. And he said this is worship house up.

Sacrificial system was designed as part of the worship of God's people. The Fragrant offerings that went up from the sacrifices were designed to be a physical representation is the smoke Rose to Heaven of of the people speaking to praise God in the sacrifice Our spiritual worship is that when we die to self we live as an aroma to God from Life on Kauai.

We are designed to worship and then we can actually do it when we get out of the way and let God work through us.

sup What is worship worship very simply again. Is that response of the heart? to whatever its Treasury I want a response by treasuring the Triune God. That's good working proper worship. The question we need to ask ourselves is how we doing?

Many of us are going to look at and go. Well I'm struggling here so I can hear this part of my life is okay, but this one's kind of a mess. Here's the great news.

You don't have to have it perfect yet.

Say yes, because you will be a perfect worshippers. Jay is coming. We're all the things that keep you from being able to do what you would love to do in worship. All those things that keep you from it will go away. And you will spend eternity being able to respond right week and Todd all the time. Now that does not mean that heaven is like some cartoon drawing where we sit around watch get her a little hard and we just sit on a cloud and play our Mark know where ship is so much more. We will be able to actually be in the presence of God and hasn't everything that we do glorify.

Our goal now is to get some practice.

Our goal now is to come alongside each other encouraged one another in worship and say don't neglect it. You're struggling with it. That's okay, but I'm I'm still with you in and I'm not just going to let you stay in the struggle with a walk beside you where we worship our way out of this.

A little weird here because of the setup to do some some prayer time up front, but I want to give us a chance to respond and then believe, how can I apply for? So you can stay and then you can respond there.

Play sir something pressing on your heart and he wanted prayer for it. I don't want to leave you hanging. So whatever after things are over either drop it in touch one of the pastors on the way out and we would love to pray with you before you even leave this morning if you need okay, but let's just take a few moments and go before God and talk to him about where we're at and worship and ask him to help his Spirit to enable that within us enough clothes assembly.