Worship the Lord
Notes
Transcript
OPENING
OPENING
Each year, sometime between between January and February, at our Nation’s Capital there is a scene that unfolds, all major television networks interrupt regular broadcasting and our attention is turned to the annual State of the Union address.
Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States
MAIN POINT
MAIN POINT
God is calling us to worship, know and follow Him.
God is calling us to worship, know and follow Him.
Psalm 100
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are his— his people, the sheep of his pasture.
3 Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
We are called to know God.
We are called to know God.
Psalm 100:3 (CSB)
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
ACKNOWLEDGE
Recognize as genuine or valid
Take notice
Express gratitude and honor
We are to recognize God’s authority — He is sovereign and He is over all
4 The Lord is exalted above all the nations, his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like the Lord our God— the one enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
Speaking of the declaration of Him being Lord
LORD
The Lord is God is a translation of the Hebrew phrase, “Yahweh is Elohim.”
Yahweh is the name of God revealed in his covenant relationship with his people.
Elohim speaks of power; he is the One who created the heavens and the earth.
It’s a title of respect.
It means that he is Master of our lives.
The word Lord appears hundreds of times in the Old and New Testaments.
Interestingly, the word Savior appears only (24) times in the New Testament.
To claim Jesus as Lord and declare ourselves His servants is to follow the New Testament pattern; that was the apostle Paul’s usual description of his own relationship with Jesus Christ.
3 Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
As believers, we belong to Jesus as Lord, and our calling is to obey Him completely.
James Hudson Taylor
Taylor was a pioneering missionary to China who founded the China Inland Mission, he said …
Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.
Accepting Jesus as our Lord is essential for salvation and represents the first Christian confession of faith (Romans 10:9–10; 1 Corinthians 12:3).
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
Verse 3 of Psalm 100 is calling us to remember that the God of the universe — all powerful, knowing, loving — desires a relationship with each of us.
He desires a relationship with YOU!
God should be given the proper place and recognition He deserves in our lives, His church and our homes.
Is He Lord not only of your walk, but of your words?
How do you know?
How can others know He is your Lord?
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
8 I delight to do your will, my God, and your instruction is deep within me.”
How we do know God’s will?
We ask him.
We seek Him through prayer … His word … listening more than we talk … taking next steps.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
James 4
We have not because we ask not!
We are called to remember whose we are — His!
We are called to remember whose we are — His!
Psalm 100:3 (CSB)
3 … He made us, and we are his
The Lord, who created the world, also created Israel.
He serves a dual role — Creator and Shepherd.
1 Now this is what the Lord says— the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel— “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
Because God created us, we belong to Him.
Think about the Creator of the Heaven, Earth and Seas and everything in them …
His Creation shows off the uniqueness of God
Nothing else can rival him because everything else has been created.
No one created God.
He is eternal.
He is above all.
We can find joy in our relationship because the Creator God is our good, loving Shepherd.
Do you remember what Jesus taught about the Good Shepherd as John records in John 10.
27 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
We are called to follow His lead.
We are called to follow His lead.
Psalm 100:3 (CSB)
3 — his people, the sheep of his pasture.
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever; we will declare your praise to generation after generation.
Why does God use the illustration of sheep when it comes to his people? It’s used more than 500 times through the Bible.
Have you ever studied sheep?
Know much about their habits?
They are …
Messy
Dirty
Smelly
Not very bright
They spook easily
They are helpless (no defense system) — helpless without a shepherd
Prone to wander
This week I read an article from ChristianParneting.com about why the Lord used the illustration of sheep so many times.
Sheep follow others blindly.
Sheep follow others blindly.
Many people say sheep are stupid.
Perhaps they are just “challenged.”
Here are two examples:
A farmer stretched a rope across a barn door and called the sheep out. He let a few sheep jump over the rope as they exited the barn door.
He then cut the rope. The remaining sheep continued to jump over the “invisible rope,” not thinking twice.
A group of about 1,500 sheep were left unattended for a while.
They got scared and started running until they ran off a cliff.
The first 400 died while the other 1100 were saved. It turns out the first 400 broke the fall for the remaining 1100.
It’s funny to listen to stories about sheep—until we realize Jesus was talking about us.
We are compared to sheep because we will follow anyone without thinking, we have no sense of direction, and we cannot defend ourselves in times of trouble.
Sheep are emotional.
Sheep are emotional.
They get anxious, distressed and sad.
Sheep can recognize the shepherd’s voice.
Sheep can recognize the shepherd’s voice.
Sheep have a remarkable instinct for knowing the voice of their shepherd as they are emotional creatures.
Amazingly, they will fear a stranger’s voice and flee.
Sheep are not meant to carry burdens.
Sheep are not meant to carry burdens.
You will never see sheep carrying a pack on their back.
Other animals were made for carrying things, but not sheep.
They were not meant to carry a heavy load.
In fact, they would be crushed under such a weighty burden.
We were not meant to carry our burdens either.
22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.
Sheep will settle for less.
Sheep will settle for less.
When sheep are thirsty, they will stop at a dirty puddle right in front of them instead of going for the clean, still water ten feet ahead.
Sadly, they are content with filth, so long as it satisfies at the moment.
Furthermore, they will stink and never realize it.
Truthfully, they lack discernment and judgment and, frankly, don’t know what is good for them.
How many of us, like sheep, have settled for less?
We are content with filth and don’t know we stink.
This is why we need a shepherd.
He leads us to better things and cleans us up when no one else will touch us.
Lastly,
Sheep are valuable.
Sheep are valuable.
Sheep were treated as prized possessions in Jesus’ day.
You were counted a wealthy man if you owned large flocks because they provided meat, milk, and wool.
In addition, they produced offspring.
Shepherds made many sacrifices to make sure their flocks were protected.
They knew it was their livelihood at stake.
Think about it for a minute:
How much more precious are we than smelly sheep?
God compares us to sheep in the Bible because he views us as priceless. So valuable that he was willing to give his life for us.
A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.
Those who truly belong to the Lord will hear His voice and respond to Him.
7 Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
CLOSING
CLOSING
God’s people have abundant reasons to praise him.
This verse gives three reasons:
The Lord is God — He alone created the universe and is, therefore, Lord of creation. We should worship Him as such.
God made us in his image — We are not self made, but made for a purpose. … We are made in His image to reflect Him wherever He leads.
God shepherds his people — He is involved intimately in the lives of his people. God’s people are to be a worshiping, praising community.
We are called to know God.
We are called to know God.
Spend time with God this week.
Open His love letter to you (His Word)
Don’t just read His Word, study it … memorize it … meditate on it (chew on it)
We are called to remember whose we are — His!
We are called to remember whose we are — His!
Do you know who you are in Christ?
You are loved … chosen … adopted (son/daughter, co-heirs) … fearfully, wonderfully, uniquely made … new creation … free … valuable (bought with a price) … friend … ambassador
We are called to follow His lead.
We are called to follow His lead.
Do you know His voice?
Are you following His lead?
Voices slide
