Worship - Our Response to God

INTRO:

Game brought about a response

Encounter with God brings about a response

May have flinched when you first encountered Him (Much like the Mystery Box)

Desire to win

To get to know God more, more time and risk has to be given…Same way as figuring out what the item in box was

When we hear the Gospel it demands a response

Response to the Gospel

Parable of the Sower:

Sows seeds

some fall on the path and are eaten by birds

some fell among rocky ground

some fell among the thorns

some fell among good soil

Each case was a response to the Gospel

The Rich Young Ruler and the Woman at the well

Jesus encounters both

Jesus shares the Gospel with both

One walks away saddened, the other rejoices and shares with others

The Gospel demands a response - you cannot be indifferent to it, God doesn’t give room to ride the fence

All in or not

All in or not

The Response of Non-believers

Luke 4:28–29 ESV

28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.

Luke 4:

Romans 8:5–7 ESV

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

Revelation 16:9 ESV

9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

Romans 8:5-

,

Blame, hatred, and hostility towards God is the response from a person who rejects the Gospel

There is no joy in discussing spiritual things

No joy in discipleship

longing to be sanctified

God gets all the blame for everything wrong, misunderstanding of who God is and what He is about - the glory of His name, our holiness and joy rooted in Him

Hatred and desire to disprove or resent God

Why is this?

1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18

1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:

Driven by your flesh and your own motives the things of God don’t make sense and are infuriating as they challenge our lives

The Response of the Believer - Worship

Psalm 105:1–5 ESV

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 4 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! 5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

Psalm 96:1–9 ESV

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

Psalm 96:1-

Worship, adoration, longing is the response of the believer

Yearning for the Lord

Psalm 41

Psalm 42:1–2 ESV

1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Same yearning Paul has in Philippians - wish to depart but better to stay

Revelation 22:3–5 ESV

3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:3

Worship is our response to what God has done through the Gospel and what He will still do

STOP

What are the different responses a person has to the Gospel? (Acceptance or Rejection) Why is it important to know that there are only two responses? (No one can be indifferent to the Gospel, it demands a response)

Why do people who reject the Gospel respond with blame, hatred, and hostility? (Gospel opposes their life, conflicts with their desires, false belief in who God is and what He is about - believed Him to be a genie, etc.) Why do those who accept the Gospel respond with worship, adoration, and longing? (See the weight of their sin, see what God has done for them, desire to be with God, etc.)

How has the atoning work of Christ changed your response to the Gospel? (testimonies) What does your response of worship look like? (various answers of what stirs each person’s affections for the Lord)

Read , inferring from this passage why is worship our response to God? (What we produce reveals our heart, others see what we truly believe by our response, etc.)