Worship Ultimatum

Psalm 95 NASB95

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

INTRO: How seriously do you approach worship?

For many, worship is approached rather casually- if it happens, great! If not, no big deal, maybe we’ll catch it next time. What if I told you that worship is a bit more crucial than we might want to think?

Today, we are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving- a holiday in the US that encourages us to reflect upon God’s blessings in life. In many tv shows, movies, etc., there are scenes where a family or group of people sit around the table and share the things they are thankful for. This list usually includes relationships, provisions, and circumstances. Certainly, this is a heart-warming and a good thing. Yet, as Christians, a yearly celebration is hardly an adequate expression of our thanks and worship of God. In fact, if we are not careful we end up putting caveats on our thanks. We only are thankful if things work out the way we think they should.

Here in Psalm 95, we see a different approach altogether. In fact, we see an ultimatum of sorts. Do you know what an ultimatum is? It’s that phrase your mom or dad used all the time: “Clean your room or else!” Now, for many of us, we do not like ultimatums. We don’t like them because in some ways, we do not want anyone to have that kind of power over us. But when the ultimatum comes from God’s Word, you and I need to pay attention.

This morning, we are walk through Psalm 95 and see that it is broken into 2 main parts: An invitation to worship and a warning against unbelief. My prayer is that you and I will walk away today with a more serious approach to worship, and an understanding of the danger of casually coming before the King.

Let us begin with verses 1-7, showing an

Invitation to Worship

This invitation is also somewhat of a prescription- we see in these 7 verses WHO we are to worship, HOW we can worship, and WHY we should worship.

Now, for many of you here today, you are familiar with WHO we are to worship… at least intellectually. Practically, you and I need to be aware that we are prone to worship falsely. In fact, as a side note, I’d like you to consider the scenario 200 years from now. In 200 years or 2000 if the Lord tarries, what will these future generations know by looking back at your life. If they were to survey your spending habits, your leisure activities, your social media posts, what would they assume about you? Would it be obvious that you worshipped WHO we think we worship?

This psalm calls us to:

Worship Specifically

Verse 1 tells us to sing for joy to the LORD, that is Yahweh, the God specifically revealed to the Hebrews, the Creator of the universe, the Covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

He is the “rock of our salvation”- the one who rescued the Hebrews from the hands of Egyptian oppressors. The one who provided manna in the wilderness, and protection from the armies. Specifically, we should see that this ‘rock’ image is that which shows the power and might of God.

When the Israelites were traveling in the wilderness, they became thirsty and God provided water through a rock, which Moses was instructed to strike.

When Jesus commissioned the church, he spoke of the rock- the truth of the gospel, that He was indeed the very Son of God, the Holy Redeemer and Rescuer by whose name alone comes salvation- This is the foundation and cornerstone of the church.

Psalm 95:3-4 says that He is the Great God- the one above all other gods. You see, every nation had a little “g” god. An idol whom they worshipped. But here, David calls the nation (and us) to worship the God who is greater! He is the God who has power and sovereignty! He is the God who holds all of creation! Look at v. 4- He holds the depths of the earth- you know there are still unexplored depths of the earth and seas? God is sovereign here and holds them in His mighty hand. He holds the highest peaks also- there is no place where Yahweh, the God who is revealed in Scripture, does not reign supreme!!

And He is our God! Look at v. 7- Not only is He powerful and wondrous. Not only is He sovereign and supreme, but He is our God! He is personal and compassionate. We are HIS people, the sheep of His pasture. Thus, when we worship, we are not to worship some vague idea of a cosmic power, we are to direct our worship to the God of the Bible alone!

We worship specifically. But also, we are called to

Worship Outwardly

For sure, we must have our hearts tuned to worship God, but here in Psalm 95, we see also a call to physically, outwardly express worship to Him.

Let’s just look at the ways we are instructed to worship:

Sing for Joy to the LORD (1a)

This isn’t simply mouthing the words to a song. It’s a joyful expression of our worship!

We might say something like, “Sing like you mean the words”

ILL- This is the idea of sincerity. Have you ever listened to someone offer an apology that was insincere? Or perhaps you have hear a pastor preach a message that was just words. When we sing songs of worship, they should be a reflection of our heart filled with joy for the relationship we have with the KING!!!

Shout joyfully (1b, 2b)

This is the idea of a “full-throated” shout! Hey, if you’re going to shout praise to God, it ought to be loud! We ought to reject the low-muttering “amen” and instead be moved to give our praise joyfully, mind you, with excitement and volume!

Come before Him with Thanksgiving (2a)

Friends, God doesn’t owe us anything. Yet, He has given us everything! Oh, that we would look at every opportunity to come before Him, especially as a body, with anticipation and gratitude.

Bow down - literally lay prostrate (6a)

Kneel (6b)

Both of these are physical responses of honor and submission to the God of the universe. You might scoff at the idea of getting on your face before God, but folks, let me tell you I have seen professing Christians give more physical responses of honor to political figures than they do to the Great God of the Bible. We are encouraged by God’s Word to place our physical bodies in a position of submission and reverence because God is worthy.

You might say, well, that makes me uncomfortable. Maybe. But, if God’s called us to worship in this manner, who are we to put our pride above His worthiness?

I don’t know if you know this or not, but one day, Scripture tells us, every knee will bow in heaven and on Earth. We get the opportunity to do so on this day to give praise and honor and worship to our Lord!

Discuss: How seriously do you approach worship? What do you think needs to change?

This is the invitation to worship- specifically, and outwardly. But I told you this was an ultimatum, so let’s look together at the ultimatum:

Refuse and Perish

Let’s read these verses together (7b-11)

Now, this warning is compared to the actions of the Israelites as they were in the wilderness.

IF you are unfamiliar with the history here, let me give you a short recap:

The Hebrew people, who came to Egypt as a result of a famine, started with a small group, but multiplied into thousands and millions. The Egyptians, fearing a revolt, enslaved the Hebrew people and oppressed them. Moses, a Hebrew who was raised in the house of the Egyptian Pharoah, was called by God to free the Hebrews. In doing so, God performed many miracles- plagues, wonders, etc. He even parted the Red Sea to allow the Hebrews to cross on dry land as they were pursued by the Egyptian army.

Now, this people, who witnessed God’s great acts and His mercy- they walked on dry sea bed, they watched the waters come over the Egyptian army. God provided manna, meat and water, and they all took part in God’s provision- these people came to the place of Meribah (8) and grumbled against Moses and the Lord because they again needed water, saying “Why have you brought us here? To kill us?” (Exodus 17:1-7) They were asking, “Where is God?” and doubting His power and provision. Now, God provided water from the rock that day. Further, when they came to the promised land, they sent spies in and were too chicken to go in and take the land, not trusting that God would do what He said He would. They would be punished by God, forced to wonder in the wilderness for 40 years until the generation of unbelief died off.

Psalm 95, says that if we refuse to worship God, then we are being like these Hebrews and we too will be condemned.

David describes it as hardening of our hearts. That is, refusing to acknowledge WHO God is. Refusing to give Him our surrender and our worship. Refusing to trust God’s Word and His plan.

ILL: This is the same wording used in the book of Exodus speaking about Pharoah hardening his heart - he experienced the plagues, experienced the death of his first born in that final plague of death, yet he hardened his heart. His pride overtook him and he refused to acknowledge God.

You might think: well, that’s kind of dramatic, don’t you think, Pastor? After all, we live in the age of GRACE. I mean, this is, after all, the Old Testament.

Well, did you know that the author of Hebrews quoted these verses in Hebrews 3:7-11?

Oh yes, you see, we need to understand the big picture here. You and I cannot call ourselves Christians if we do not genuinely acknowledge WHO God is and respond in accordance to His worthiness to be worshiped.

If God is WHO the Bible says He is, then we, as His creation, must honor Him in the ways that He Himself prescribes. I find it funny that people just assume that they can choose how to honor God. Like, this isn’t your cousin’s birthday, you don’t get to get him an Outback gift card and call it good. Folks, God, because of WHO He is, requires that we love Him with all of our heart, our soul, our mind, and strength.

We ought to be ashamed to bring anything less than that to Him. You and I have heard the Gospel message. You and I have seen evidence of God’s strength and power. You and I have the very Word of God to guide us.

Today, do you hear the voice of God? Will you tune your ears to His Word? Will you harden your heart, or will you give your life in worship and thanksgiving?

Discuss: How do we harden our hearts? What does the evidence of your life say about your worship?