Engage: Worship

Mission and Strategy Series: Fall 2024

Mathiston First Baptist Church

Message #5

Psalm 119:169-176.

Central Idea: The Psalmist cries to God for understanding expressing confidence in God’s commands.

Cognitive: I want the hearers to know that a confidence in God’s Word leads to the worship of God’s Name.

Affective: I want the hearers to feel the urgency to worship God in light of who He is as revealed in His Word.

Psycho-Motor: I want the hearers to cry out to God in worship because He alone is worthy.

Intro.:

Our Mission:

“Mathiston FBC exists to evangelize the lost through verbal proclamation of the Gospel; to equip the saints for the work of ministry; to engage the Word of God, in the worship of His name, and the world with the hope of His gospel.”

What is worship?

William Temple: “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His Beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose – and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.”

John Frame: “Redemption is the means; worship is the goal. In one sense, worship is the whole point of everything. It is the purpose of history, the goal of the whole Christian story. Worship is not one segment of the Christian life among others. Worship is the entire Christian life, seen as a priestly offering to God. And when we meet together as a church, our time of worship is not merely a preliminary to something else; rather, it is the whole point of our existence as the body of Christ.”

Louie Giglio: “Worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is, and what He has done; expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live.”

(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-is-worship/)

Adrian Rogers: “Worship is when we give our deepest affection and highest praise to something. True worship of God is when we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It’s when we prize God above everything else and put Him first in our hearts.”

(https://www.lwf.org/gods-desires-for-you-a-biblical-guide/what-is-worship-according-to-the-bible)

Our Daily Bread: “Worship, then, involves both our attitude and our actions. Worship is the attitude of reverence and adoration, as well as the action of humble, loving service to the God who is worthy.”

(https://ourdailybread.org/what-is-worship/)

Common Denominators: Heart; full devotion and submission; adoration; service

Why engage in worship? [v. 172]

Because his commands are righteous

His commands directly refers to the Torah; more broadly, though, it refers to the whole Bible.

His commands are righteous because He is righteous.

How do you engage in worship? [vv. 169-175]

Cry out to God [169-170]

Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel.”

Sing praises to God [vv. 171-172; 175]

In humility because it is God who has rescued us, taught us, and done everything for us.

1 Corinthians 1:31 “—in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

In abundance because God has revealed Himself to us:

My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. The sentiment here is the same as in ver. 7. The language is varied, but the meaning here, as in that verse, is, I will praise thee in proportion as I learn thy precepts or thy law. The more I learn of thy will, the more I will praise thee. I shall see more for which to offer praise and adoration, and I shall be more and more inclined to praise and adore thee. Each new degree of knowledge will excite a corresponding desire to praise thee. This will be true of all who love God, while this life lasts, and for ever. The ever-increasing knowledge of God will excite ever-increasing praise; and as God is infinite and eternal, it follows that the increase of knowledge and of happiness, in those who are saved, will be eternal. These things will go hand in hand for ever and ever.

Long for and choose God’s standard [vv. 173-174]

Above all else— the delight is in God’s commands and standards.

Remember God’s commands (His Word) [v. 176]

What is the result of engaging in worship? [vv. 169-176]

Confidence in God. [vv. 169-170]

Hebrews 4:14–16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”

Instruction from God. [vv. 171-174]

John 14:18-31; John 16:7–15 “Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.”

Response Questions:

[1] Is worship, in this sense, a familiar thing to you or a foreign concept?

[2] Do you understand that worship involves your whole life?

[3] How can you worship God this week— as you depart from here to serve?

Sources:

Augustine of Hippo. 1888. “Expositions on the Book of Psalms.” In Saint Augustin: Expositions on the Book of Psalms, edited by Philip Schaff, translated by A. Cleveland Coxe, 8:588. A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series. New York: Christian Literature Company.

Barnes, Albert. 1870–1872. Notes on the Old Testament: Psalms. Vol. 3. London: Blackie & Son.

Biblical Studies Press. 2006. The NET Bible First Edition Notes. Biblical Studies Press.

Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. 1997. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Vol. 1. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Kidner, Derek. 1975. Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 16. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Online:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-is-worship/

https://www.lwf.org/gods-desires-for-you-a-biblical-guide/what-is-worship-according-to-the-bible

https://ourdailybread.org/what-is-worship/