A Worshipping Heart...Our Absolute Response

Introduction:

Video

Some might argue that this boy was able to do what be is doing because he is autistic. I’m not in the medical field, but I know how to use google. (Hehe) So they say autism tends to focus more in visual and spatial details. But this boy, he’s blind!!! I believe this is God’s gift to him, medical, science will disagree, but listen to what the bible says:

1 Corinthians 1:27 NLT

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

In the case of this boy, God is almost saying for people to see - “is it hard for you to worship me”

Sally Morgenthaler: Christian worship is not only offering all that we are to a Holy God. It is THE INTENTIONAL RESPONSE OF PRAISE, THANKSGIVING, AND ADORATION TO GOD, the One revealed in the Word, made known and accessible to us in Jesus Christ and witnessed in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. In real worship, we carry on an exchange of love with the GOD WHO IS PRESENT, the GOD WHO SPEAKS TO US IN THE NOW, who has DONE and is DOING marvelous things.

What is Worship?

English Word from an Anglo-Saxon Word

“WEORTHSCIPE”

Worth Ship

A recognition of, a response to the worth of God

[connect worship to what Moses experienced]

This morning I’d to share to you 2 individual and a group people who purposely, Remember, Recognize and Responded to who God is in their lives.

Our scripture reference can be found in several verses, I’ll be reading them as I go through each topics.

May I please ask everybody to stand in respect to God as we read His word today.

Scripture:

Exodus 3:1–13 NLT

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.” But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

3 Truths:

REMEMBER..RECOGNIZE..RESPOND

I. AS WE REMEMBER HIS DELIVERANCE.... WORSHIP HIM

REMEMBER in the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology says:

Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology Remember, Remembrance

To remember is a normal part of the activity of the human mind. When, however, God is the One who is remembered in prayer and ritual, or, when it is believed by the faithful that God himself is actually remembering his own relation to his people, then “to remember” with its appropriate nouns becomes a special verb in the religious vocabulary of Israel and the church of God.

RECALL

- Verb , Action word, remembering goes on an on

- patuloy na pagkilos

That’s why Moses Remembered, he knew it, it all just flashed in his mind, when he heard God saying “I’m the God of your father Abraham, God of Isaac, the God of Joseph.”

The Lord God is referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (e.g., Genesis 50:24; Exodus 3:15; Acts 7:32). This name of God emphasizes the covenant that God made with Israel and the Israelites’ special place as God’s Chosen People.

Moses remembered, he is smart, he was educated by the Egyptians. He might have the tendency to rationalize the burning bush, and might be he would say the voice that he heard is just “thunder”, but that did not happen. All he remembered is how the Israelites experienced, time and time again, God’s deliverance.

DELIVERANCE

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Deliverance, Deliverer

Deliverance, Deliverer. Rescue or redemption and the agent of such a rescue. Scripture teaches that God’s ultimate goal in history is to rescue people from the curse of sin, death, Satan, and hell. The OT depicts God as delivering his chosen people from Egyptian slavery, from Babylonian captivity, and from oppression at the hands of various Palestinian tribes. To Christians those deliverances foreshadow the coming of Jesus Christ as supreme deliverer.

- Rescue

- Save

- Set Free

The verses that we read from our text, shows how Moses was reminded by God who He is to him-

New Living Translation Chapter 3

6 I am the God of your father*—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

and observe in the following paragraph of the same verse:

New Living Translation Chapter 3

When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

In that spur of the moment, God made Moses remember who He is.

What will it take for us to remember who God is in our lives?

How many times He rescued us from terrible situations knowingly and unknowingly we have brought upon ourselves, how many times He forgave us from sins that we consciously kept doing.

In these situations, God just wants us to understand and remember, that He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. And as we Remember , may this brings us to our knees and humbles our heart to come to God and worship Him.

RECOGNIZE

Our text can be found in Numbers 2 I’ll be reading segments of that chapter:

Numbers 2:1–4 NLT

Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses and Aaron: “When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle, but at some distance from it. “The divisions of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun are to camp toward the sunrise on the east side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops: Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab 74,600

Numbers 2:10–11 NLT

“The divisions of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad are to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops: Reuben Elizur son of Shedeur 46,500

Numbers 2:18–19 NLT

“The divisions of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin are to camp on the west side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops: Ephraim Elishama son of Ammihud 40,500

Numbers 2:25–26 NLT

“The divisions of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali are to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops: Dan Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai 62,700

Numbers 2:17 NLT

“Then the Tabernacle, carried by the Levites, will set out from the middle of the camp. All the tribes are to travel in the same order that they camp, each in position under the appropriate family banner.

Flash the Israelite’s Encampment

Now although there are the twelve tribes of Israel, we notice that thirteen names when we identify their places in the encampment. That is because of the special privilege given to the tribe of Levi when they supported Moses' and joined his side and "on the Lord's side", at the time of Israel's rebellion. From that moment on they were ordained for the service of God and set apart as the priestly tribe.

This would have left only eleven tribes but the large tribe of Joseph was divided into two, consisting of the descendants of his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Each was regarded as an individual tribe. Not only was the loyal tribe of Levi involved in an act of dedication but also in one of substitution. On that night of terror in Egypt when the firstborn of every Egyptian family had been slain, the Israelite firstborn son lived because a lamb had died in substitution for him. As soon as this happened God called on Moses to consecrate all those firstborn sons, and those who would be born in future, to his service. They had been saved from death while those around them had died. From then on, they were to be set apart for the service of God.

But when the Levites were chosen as the consecrated tribe, in an act of substitution they took the place previously required of the firstborn son in each family.

Moses and his brother Aaron belonged to the tribe of Levi, the third son of Jacob. Levi had three sons; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Moses and his brother sprang from the family of Kohath. Having chosen Moses to be leader of his people God gave further honor to the family of Kohath by selecting Aaron to be the first of his priests, and commanding that only the descendants of Aaron should serve as priests and represent the people to God.

The rest of the men of Levi, known as Levites, were charged with the care of the sanctuary. This was a holy commission which no other group of people in Israel were permitted to participate in. [Only the Levites could handle the tabernacle and its furnishings when the camp was on the march. When it came to rest they were the ones to erect it, care for it, and assist the priests (the sons of Aaron) in their work].

Camped just outside the tabernacle were the Levite tents. The Levites performed the priestly duties and therefore were mediators between God and the people. The tribe of Levi was divided into four families. Their tents were pitched between the tabernacle and the people, one family on each side. The Kohathites on the south numbering 8,600. The Gershonites on the west numbering 7,500. The Merarites on the north side numbering 6,200. On the eastern side were the tents of Moses, Aaron the high priest, and Aaron's sons the priests.

Camped in the center was God.

So there’s that set up, encampment, and now camped in the center was God.

Inside the Tabernacle is the Ark of the Covenant (and will deal with this in the third point) which is the very presence of God!

Why is the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant in the very center of the whole tribe of Israel.?

The whole idea is:

God is the very center of the life of all Israel..

When they wake up..imagine what will they see the minute they step out of their tent.

They go to work on their field as they come home, what will they see?

wherever they go, wherever they look, wherever they turn, they see the Tabernacle, they are constantly being reminded of who God is and as this happens they constantly recognize all what God has done for them.. this set up …IT’S THEIR LIFESTYLE, WORSHIP IS THEIR LIFESTYLE!!!

God camps with His people. His plan was always that He would dwell in us and be our God. He leads us, he cares for us and He speaks to us with the soft voice of a husband that is desperately in love with His bride.

That was it then during the OT and in it continued in the NT and that’s why John says

John 1:1 NLT

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 NLT

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Expound .....God longs for our worship, to the point that He chose to dwell among His people, for them to see and experience His love His faithfulness, His grace and His salvation, from the beginning and up until this very moment.

Recognizing what God did for us should all the more challenge us to give our best in worshipping Him.

RESPOND

Now let us look at the life of the person whom God Himself called “A Man after God’s own Heart” - David

Our text can be read in 2 Samuel 6, I will again point out several verses that will shed light to our 3rd point.

2 Samuel 6:1–5 NLT

Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, 30,000 in all. He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart that carried the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

2 Samuel 6:16–23 NLT

But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him. They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Then he gave to every Israelite man and woman in the crowd a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people returned to their homes. When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!” David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord. Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished!” So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life.

There are 3 things that we can learn from David’s response

How did David respond

1. Worship

a. With his Mind - “how can I ever . . . . . vs. 9

b. With an Act :

offering - “……..David sacrificed……vs. 13

Dance – “David danced . . . . vs.14

Encouraged others – “So David and all Israel . . . . vs.15

2. As the Lord blesses, David blessed others. Vs.18 – 20

He experienced it so now he is bestowing it.

3. Radical worship – vs. 21

Radical – Extreme

David learned how to pay attention to God

He knew his position in the Lord and he decided to leave one realm into another level of encounter with the Lord.

So, while the bush blazes with fire, and as it is, was not being consumed! (Exod. 3:2). The Lord spoke out to Moses from the bush telling him not to come any closer, for he was on holy ground. The Lord then identified himself to Moses: “I am the God of your father, the Abraham, The God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (v. 6).

The reason for this miracle was that God was informing Moses that he was about to deliver his people from their 400 years of bondage in Egypt. This was all in accordance with what the Lord had told Abraham many long years before (Gen. 15:12-14; cf. Gen. 50:24). It was now time to make this happen and Moses was to be God’s representative before the Egyptian Pharaoh (vv. 9-10).