A Life of Worship

Introduction

Welcome to ECC- excited to continue our Study in Nehemiah 12! My name is Jon Rector and I am filling in for Pastor Holland who is away officiating a wedding. If you are new here or joining us online, we are glad you are here! Please reach out to us online or here today. We would love to meet you and get you plugged in.Today we will be in Nehemiah chapter 12 looking at a theme of worship. As you turn to it in your Bibles, I would love to share a story with you.

Illustration: I grew up in a Christian home and went to church all my life. IDK where you are spiritually, but I experienced a variety of worship services. But none of them impacted me more than a camp I attended. When I was in middle school, my parents sent me to a Christian football camp with the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). Now I was excited about camp because of the sports, not about Jesus.

This camp was interesting. We woke up every morning and had a devotional, then we stretched and went to practice. We competed in the afternoon and had a chapel service in the evenings. This camp was diverse. We had kids and coaches from all over. We had white country kids and black kids from South Chicago. I mean we had kids from many ethnicities and cultures. I would say many were not Christians. We went for the sports. Anyway, we get to chapel the first night and hundreds of us pack out this chapel. It is loud, crammed shoulder to shoulder, and we have worship music. We are playing a long but then we get hyped. The room is shaking. Then the speaker gets up and shares the gospel. The most powerful memory was remembering how genuine the worship was after that. We had a TON of kids come to Christ.

I remember a 300lbs lineman from S. Chicago who was nearly 7ft tall. He was a gang member and had a neck tattoo. I remember seeing this giant football player balling his eyes out and hugging our line coach who was a redneck Kentucky guy who was maybe 5ft 5in. You see coach led Jamaal to the Lord and they were hugging and worshipping God together. It is a powerful story because when you encounter the risen Lord in worship through the power of the Holy Spirit, all barriers are broken. That moment deeply formed a memory of the power of God and the sweetness of worship.

Worship is a gift from God. Today in Nehemiah 12, we will see the climax of the book. All the work, all the struggles, are now done and the people worship. I believe we will see 3 essential characteristics in Christian worship. Christian worship is marked by thanksgiving, joy, and generosity.

Thankful Worship (v.27-42; Highlight v.27,31,38, & 40).

A life of worship starts with the posture of the heart. How many times do we gather for worship and yet our hearts are not right? IDK about you, but I am a husband and father. There are a lot of times Sunday mornings are the toughest times. By the time I get here and settled I need to stop and pray. That is one reason why I love that we take time in our service to stop, confess sin, reflect, and pray. Psalm 50:23, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

Thanksgiving creates a culture of worship. In Nehemiah 12:27, we see they are celebrating with thanksgiving and singing. Their worship includes a lot of external rituals and movement, but the text highlights the spirit and heart of their worship. V. 27 says, “to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing...” V. 31, 38, and 40 also repeats that they “gave thanks”. Thanksgiving puts God in His rightful place as Creator and Lord, and creates a posture of humility. When we have a thankful heart, it produces

Thankful worship leads to joy!

Joyful Worship (v.43)

John 15:10-11, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Rejoicing is a choice. When I align myself to Jesus and His ways, I begin to receive His joy. It is not “fake it until you make it.” Choosing to rejoice in the person and work of Jesus, God sends you HIS Joy. It is a gift of GOD.

Nehemiah said that the “joy of Jerusalem was heard far away”. That is not a FAKE celebration. That is a party! There acts of sacrifice and purifications are all outward signs of a inward change. We do this with Communion and Baptism.

A life of worship starts with the posture of our hearts. Thankfulness places God in His rightful place, and God gives us joy if we pursue Him and His ways.

When I was at FCA Camp and witnessed the chapel service and the real life change. No one told the guys how to behave. When they experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, joy quickly followed.

Now (in God’s humor and providence) I work for FCA. The ministry that played a primary role in my spiritual formation is now what God called me to. You might not know this, but ECC is a financial partner with me and FCA. I do this fulltime off of the generosity of other believers. This leads me to my final point. That their worship was generous.

Generous Worship (v.44-47)

(v.44) “..for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered.” Even though the Mosaic Law had requirements for tithing, it was another act to reflect the posture of their hearts. WHY? Because a life of worship reflects the posture of their hearts. We see this in v.44…it says they REJOICED over those who ministered.

A SPIRIT of generosity reflects what we worship. NOT JUST MONEY. Our time, talent, and treasure goes towards our greatest desires and our true lords. God set up this system not because He needs your money…He did it to protect your heart. God is the giver of all things and he entrusts us with influence, resources, and skills to use for HIS GLORY as an act of worship.

In Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus tells a parable of the Talents where the master gives money to 3 different workers. 2 of the 3 workers used the gift wisely and this is the master’s response...

Matthew 25:23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

My life changed forever because of the generosity of others. My faith has grown because of other people’s worship. Even though I raise 100% of my salary to do ministry, my wife and I still give too! WHY? Because we do it for the glory of God. A life of worship starts with the posture of our hearts. Everyone worships. Are you worshipping Jesus?

Application:

What are some ways you can guard your heart and prepare it for worship?

How do you see the joy of the Lord in your life?