Lift Your Hands

Today, we begin a four-part message series entitled Come to Worship. We are going to take time in this advent season to focus on who Jesus is, what he did for us, and the power of the Virgin Birth. The title for the series is from , when the wise men came before King Herod.

Matthew 2:2 CSB

2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

Notice, they didn’t come to get something from God, but rather they came to offer worship to Jesus. I think, many times, Christianity has reversed this concept. Some times I think we act and think as if God exists for us, rather than we exist to glorify and worship God. We act as if we just pray the right prayer or act the right way, then God will give us whatever we want.

We treat God more like a genie than the sovereign ruler of the universe. If we just rub God the right way, he will appear and grant us our wishes. We treat God like a vending machine. If we put our money in, then we get what we want. If we do our devotions, if we pray, if we post something religious on social media, or if we do nice things for people, then God is going to answers all your prayers and make your life better.

The reality is that is not why God exists. God does not exist for us, rather, we exist for him. We are created to glorify God, to worship him, to make him known, and to bring him honor.

I want us to consider something important as a church. One of the things I think we can improve on is becoming true worshippers of God. We do many things very well here at FBC Laredo, but we can improve on being a 7-day a week worshippers, instead of just weekend worshippers. We need to realize worship isn’t something we do. A worshipper is who we are. We were made to worship.

In this series, we are going to look at the ways that we worship because the goal is for us to become passionate 7-day a week worshippers of God. Next week, we are going to talk about bringing our gifts. Then, we are going to talk about pouring out our hearts. Finally, we are going to talk about bowing our knees. Today, we are going to start with a subject that is a little uncomfortable for Baptists. We are going to talk about lifting up our hands before God in a heart of worship.

Open your Bibles to .

David is writing when he was at a very low point in his life.

Psalm 63:1 CSB

1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

Does this describe where you are right now in your life? Right now, your life feels dry and desolate. Maybe you feel rejected and alone. Maybe your are afraid of what the future holds. You didn’t plan for your life to turn out like this, but here you are. The holiday season is supposed to be a happy time, but for you, it isn’t. I have said this before, but it is worth saying again. The holidays are like magnifiers. The holidays make the good times better and it makes the hard times worse. Look at what David wrote again,

Psalm 63:1 CSB

1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

Psalm 63:1–3 CSB

1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. 2 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. 3 My lips will glorify you because your faithful love is better than life.

Psalm 63:1–2 CSB

1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. 2 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.

Your faithful love is better than life. Why? God’s love is better than life because it is eternal. This life will fade away, but the love of God never fades away. It is forever.

Psalm 6

Psalm 63:4 CSB

4 So I will bless you as long as I live; at your name, I will lift up my hands.

Look at that last line. “I will lift up my hands.” When you truly understand who God is and what he’s done for you, you want to express your heart in worship to him.

We lift our hands in worship.

This is not just an Old Testament concept. Look at what Paul wrote to Timothy.

1 Timothy 2:8 CSB

8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

This is interesting because many times when the Bible says “men”, it really is talking about humanity or people in general. However, in this case, it really means “men”. Paul said, “I want the men to lift up their hands.” I don’t know exactly why, but I have an idea. I think it is a pride thing. Based on my experience, men are the last ones who want to raise their hands in worship. Maybe it feels awkward or we think it is an emotional woman thing, but we need to realize that men set the standard of worship for their families. Paul expected the men to be the spiritual leaders of their family. Your children need to see you diligently seeking after God. If your wife and children see you seeking after God, then are more apt to seek after God themselves.

God tells us to lift our hands to him in worship. Apparently, God loves it when his children lift their hands to him in worship. I was thinking about this idea of children lifting their hands. When does a young child lift their hands? Do you remember when your child first lifted their hands to you? What did they want? They wanted to be picked up and held. They wanted you.

Now, take this into our relationship with our Father God. When we lift our hands to God, we are saying, “God, I want you. I need you. I need to be held by you.” No loving father would reject the outstretched hands of their child. God will not reject your outstretched hands to him.

James 4:8 CSB

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

As we draw near to God, he draws near to us. Lifting our hands is an act of worship. It is an offering. We lift our hands in worship and we lift our hands to receive help.

We lift our hands to receive help.

Maybe you are in a spiritual battle right now and you need God’s help. You need God’s strength. Some of you are at a point where you just don’t know what you are going to do. You lift you hands because you need help!

Do you remember the story where the Amalekites were attacking Israel in the wilderness. If you want to read the whole account; it is in . They were about to go into battle and Moses said that he would go to the top of the nearby mountain to lift his hands to God. He would appeal to God to help them.

Exodus 17:10–11 CSB

10 Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

When his arms were up, God’s people were winning. When his arms weren’t up, God’s people started losing. Now, I don’t know if you have ever tried this, but you can only leave your hands up for so long. Eventually, everyone will get tired of keeping their hands up. So, look at what happened.

Exodus 17:12–13 CSB

12 When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.

Everyone of us need others to help support us in prayer, just like Aaron and Hur supported Moses. We need each other. This is why we worship together. This is why coming to church matters. We don’t just worship God by ourselves. We worship together. We lift up one another. We seek God together. We lift up our hands in worship. We lift up on hands because we need help. We lift up our hands in victory.

We lift up our hands in victory.

How many of you have ever been to a sporting event? This is why I know lifting your hands is for guys too. Your team has the ball. The quarterback drops back to pass. The ball is in the air. The receiver catches it and runs in for the game winning touchdown. Your hands immediately, without thinking go up. You are high-fiving the people around you. Your hands are lifted in victory.

It is the end of the fight. The boxers have gone 10 rounds. The referee steps between the contenders and declares the victor by raising their hand in the air. Universally, the lifting of your hands is about victory and excitement. If you are in Christ, then yours is the victory.

1 John 5:4 CSB

4 because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.

The world has been conquered. Jesus has won the victory. What is another time we lift our hands?

We lift our hands in surrender.

Remember the old western movies. The sheriff would say, “put ‘em up.” The bank robber would say, “reach for the stars.” Lifting your hands can mean victory, but also can mean surrender. In the presence of God, it is both. You must surrender to find victory. The moment you surrender, you find victory.

We lift our hands in worship. We lift our hands to receive help. We lift our hands in victory and surrender. I know for many of us; it is challenging to think about public lifting your hands. It feels awkward and we are self-conscious, but I think it is something we need to do more of in our worship.

Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

Father God, we thank you for who you. We thank you for being present with us and accepting our worship. Father, I ask you to do a work in our hearts and lives. Move us from being occasional weekend worshippers to being worshippers in our hearts. Create in us a passion for loving you, following you, and serving you. In Jesus’ name,

With our heads bowed and eyes closed, I would urge you to take a few minutes to reflect on your life. Perhaps you are a follower of Jesus, but you are more of an occasional worshipper. You worship a little bit here and a little bit there, but you know that is not right. It isn’t enough. You know that you need to be a worshipper of God, seven days a week. You need to see God working in your and through you. If you would say, “Yes, God, I want my heart to grow even more toward you that I might be a worshipper seven days a week. I need my passion for God to deepen and grow.” Would you lift your hands right now before God? Keep them up, while I pray for you.

Father God, I thank you for all the hands lifted to you. God draw near to us. May you be pleased with our worship and if there is something wrong, convict us so that we can fix it. Turn our hearts toward you. In Jesus’ name,

You can put your hands down, but I would ask you to keep your eyes closed. Perhaps you are here this morning and you are not following Jesus. In fact, like David prayed earlier, he was desperate, and he was longing for something more. Some of you, right now, are longing for something more in this life. There is something missing and you know it. You may be at a very dark place, and you feel like you need to be rescued.

Know this. God’s right hands is not too short to save. He has extended to you the offer of salvation. The reality is that because we’re all sinners, every single one of us, our sin separates us from God. Here’s the amazing news, God loved us so much that he sent Jesus, who was without sin, to die on a cross in our place. He was killed and buried in a tomb, but he rose from the dead. He said that anyone who calls on his name would be saved. We can be made right with God, but not by anything we can do. We are made right with God when we accept his grace through faith believing through the shed blood of Jesus Christ we are saved.

Remember, lifting your hands mean surrender and it means victory. Some of you need to raise your hands in surrender to God so that you can have the victory. You can have total and complete victory. Your sins will be forgiven and you will be made brand new. If you would say, “Yes, that’s me. Yes, I need God. I need his grace.” Would you lift your hands in surrender and victory.

Pray with me:

Pray with me, “Heavenly Father, forgive me for my sins, make me new. I ask Jesus to be my Savior and to be the Lord of my life, first in every way. My life is not my own, I give it to you. Thank you for new life. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”

Our deacons will be coming forward to pray with you and for you. If you prayed to receive Jesus, please come and let us pray with you and celebrate your new life in Christ. Come and pray for those who need Jesus. If God is dealing in your heart and life right now, don’t let this moment pass.

As you stand and we sing together.

<after closing the time of invitation>

Perhaps you didn’t come forward for one reason or another, but you really do want to talk with us about what is going on in your life. Perhaps you need help, prayer, or you just want to know more about being a follower of Jesus. I would encourage you to do one of two things. After we are dismissed, just stay where you are. One of our deacons will come and talk with you and pray with you. The other thing you can do is check one of the boxes on the Connection Card. Put it in the offering plate as it passes. We will get in touch with you this week. You see, this church exists to minister to one another. We are here to support you in your walk with God.