Measures: Worship
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Measures. Six measures of what we are becoming. Always becoming. Never arrived.
Today, we are talking about Worship.
Main Idea: We are made to worship
Author is unknown, though Hebrews credits David.
Psalm 95
Command #1: Worship God joyfully (1a, 2, 6, 7b-11)
Exp. Seems obvious to worship joyfully. They go together. Like peanut butter and jelly. Verse 1-2. Notice what he says about worship:
Sing to the Lord. Vocally. Internal worship is good, but not at the expense of vocal singing.
Joyful noise. Not a grumbling noise. But one full of joy.
Come to his presence with thanksgiving. Joy is state of heart, thanksgiving is the expression.
Verse 6. Worship and bow down/kneel before the Lord. Worship = prostrate yourself. Intimate, proof of obedience.
“Us” language. Corporate.
Ill. Worship isn’t a spectator sport. Think of football as a spectator sport, but it’s actually participation. You chant when the crowd chants. You boo when they boo. Worship is about corporate participation. We worship together. When we are united, it breeds joy.
Exp. Finishes with more commands. Verse 7-9. Hear his voice. Goes along with him being our shepherd. Do not harden hearts. Meribah and Massah. In Exodus, people were thirsty and complaining. Told Moses he led them to die.
5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Exp. This is the fruit of disobedience and complaining. The opposite of what we are to do. Verse 10. Loathed = disgusted. Deeply personal. Shameful. Verse 11. Everyone above 20 couldn’t go to Promised Land. But there is more than this. Hebrews clarifies this for us. Hebrews says this is ultimately not about Promised Land.
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
Christ - This day is obviously about Jesus. Jesus gave himself for us so that we could enter his rest. When he was on the cross, he said: “It is finished.” The work was completed!
App. What do we do? Give joyful praises!
Sing with joy. You can feel other emotions and have joy.
Sing with thanksgiving. Not begrudgingly.
Sing in obedience. He is worthy of it.
Command #2: Worship God because of who he is (1b, 3-5, 7)
Exp. This Psalm also gives detail of who God is and why we should worship him. Look at what it says:
Verse 1. Rock of our salvation. Immovable foundation.
Verse 3. Great God and great King. The only one. Above everything else.
Verse 4. In his hand are depths of the earth and heights of the mountains. The extremes of the earth are in his hands.
Verse 5. His hands formed the sea and dry lands. The vastness of creation is his.
Verse 6. Our Maker. He created us.
Verse 7. He is our Shepherd. He tends to his flock.
Ill. Understanding who God is leads us to worship. It should move us if we’ve been changed. Watching DIY videos and wanting to transform your house. Understanding who God should lead us to bow down and worship. To sing joyfully.
Christ - Everything said about God is true about Jesus. Salvation = his name means salvation. Great king = line of David. Creation in his hands = all things made by him and through him and for him. Shepherd = John 10, he is the good shepherd. No wonder people bow at his feet when they realize who he is. Who is he? The one who was sacrificed for you. Gospel
App. What do we do? Believe what you sing.
Understand who God is. Read Scripture. See what he’s doing around you.
Join in relationship with him. He’s not too far out of reach. He’s close. Acts 17:26-28
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Worship him because you know him. Engaging in a relationship with Jesus will inevitably lead to worship. Your heart will be for him.
Conclusion
Let’s sing and worship together. This is what we are made for!
