An Introduction

The need to find a book to settle in (I’m not Spurgeon)

That book will be Psalms

Introduction: My Pastoral Shtick

Every pastor has a shtick

a person's special talent, interest, or area of activity.

While a pastor’s teaching should not be one dimensional, usually his teaching will have a certain emphasis

Hopefully one that magnifies the gospel in one way or the other

What I thought my shtick would be

As I began to grow in my Christian walk, I got into doctrine (Schaeffer)

As I looked around the broad evangelical landscape around me, and saw how fluffy and destitute it was of theological mental exercise

I thought perhaps my shtick would be deep theological inquiry

But as I grew in my theological understanding, I knew something was off as I had no habit of prayer, and even singing songs of praise was more of a chore to me than anything

1 Corinthians 8:1 ESV

1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.

1 Corinthians 13:1–2 ESV

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Introduced to The Book of Psalms

After I expressed my concern of a lack of prayer life, my pastor in Michigan pointed me to the book of Psalms especially in the area of learning to pray

And as I prayed through the Psalms my Christianity changed in the most profound ways

I can honestly say the book of Psalms is what God has used the most to grow me in my Christian life

For my Christianity to go from one dimensional of simply a mental exercise, to something profoundly more.

A life of tenacious worship to our God and king

My Pastoral Shtick is to get the people of God to have blessed, life filled worship

If there is one thing I hope you get tempted to get annoyed with me over is me telling you not to have boring worship

Ultimately, last week, one person could have won the lottery and another found out about a bad cancer diagnosis

The one who goes through the circumstance in lively worship to our God is the one who is better off

Worship: The Reason for Everything

God’s purpose in all he does is to be marvelled at (worshipped)

The Purpose of all God’s creation then is to worship the Creator

Creation:

Psalm 19:1–4 ESV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,

Simply creation functioning as God created it is it worshipping God

Angels with Creation

Job 38:4–7 ESV

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Humans

God places man in this creation he made

Gives him a law to obey to show his worship (worship is happy obedience)

And instead of worship, Adam disobeys

Our hope today is that 2000 years ago Jesus came and enabled worship once more by his righteous life, death, and resurrection

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

The whole purpose of the Christian’s life here on earth is to be a living sacrifice of worship to our God who has created, and recreated for his glory

Our worship is in light of creation and recreation

Every action of yours (thought and deed) is to be in happy obedience or worship to God—enabled by the work of Christ

Your life is to be full of meaningful worship

Any problem you are facing right now is because there is a lack in this fundamental purpose to your life

THE WHOLE PURPOSE TO EVERYTHING IS FOR WORSHIP TO THE CREATOR GOD

Deceiving Ourselves into Less than Blessed, Life filled Worship

As we live in this cursed world with our left over sinful flesh, one thing is for certain worship as we should do it, IS HARD

It is possible for the People of God to have a show of worship but for it to be non existent on the inside

Amos 5:21–23 ESV

21 “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.

Psalm 50:7–13 ESV

7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. 8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. 9 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

It is possible for us to do the things we do for God as if he needs it

God has never nor will ever need our worship—it is for our greatest good to do so

Psalm 50:14–15 ESV

14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Psalm 50:23 ESV

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!”

We do the things we do for God out of sheer thanksgiving

Taking Inventory of your present Worship

On a Corporate Level

Have you all gathered together with the saints with an aim to truly worship

A heart full of thanksgiving for creation and recreation

Or is there a tendency to come here as if it is a favor we are bestowing upon God?

Here at LBC we fellowship into the afternoon! Do we ever come with complaining hearts with such activity?

Those of you who are heavily involved here, it started with worship, but is it maintained with worship?

On an Individual Level

John 7:38 ESV

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

Not a one and done belief, but an abiding belief

You wake up in the morning and your heart is filled with grumbling or indifference and not thanksgiving

This is unbelief, not belief

That’s why we must proclaim the gospel to ourselves and tell our soul to believe

Psalm 43:5 ESV

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

And all the good we do in Christ’s kingdom comes from the overflow of this worship

Husbands be the overflow to your wife

Parents be the overflow to your children

My wife and I thought we needed to exchanged our kids for better ones, but as it turned out, there was something wrong with our worship in light of raising depraved children

Complainers at Church…I can show you where your individual worship is lacking

God is Eternally Good and Thus Worthy of Eternally Good Worship

Even on our best day we do not give all God deserves (it is our worship then to grow)

Not one of us can ever say my worship is now perfect!

Worship is Vital but Hard—The Psalms are Here to Help

When Christ does his justifying work in you, he sets you on a path of eternal worship now

Having such right worship is the hardest thing you will ever do—the Psalms is here to help

The Book of Psalms

A Book of (Raw) Prayers

Nothing kills your worship more than when you are hanging by a thread because of a certain issue, and your prayer consist of thanking God for the weather asking that Billy’s root canal would go well

(Go through first several and see the raw prayers at work)

4-7 negative

8-9 positive

A Book of (Raw) Songs

These are songs and are full of poetry and warm gospel worship

One thing to say “Hey come over here and let’s worship God”

Another to sing: Behold our God, seating on his throne, come let us adore him! Behold our King, nothing can compare come let us adore him!

The Psalms will train your heart to sing out joyfully to our God and king

Here in the Psalms You Will See Yourself

Victories, set backs

Depression, overjoyed

Anger, sadness, happiness

John Calvin: The book of Psalms is an anatomy of all the parts of the soul. For there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror.”

A life of worship includes all the emotions God has given you

Here in the Psalms You Will See your Christ

Christ As...The Suffering Servant

Psalm 22:1–2 ESV

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

Psalm 22:6–8 ESV

6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

Psalm 22:12–18 ESV

12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 17 I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Ends with Triumph in light of this suffering:

Psalm 22:27–31 ESV

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. 28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. 29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. 30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; 31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

Which enables what we get next:

Christ As...The Shepherd of our Sinful Souls

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Christ As...The Conquering King

Psalm 24 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

Here in the Psalms, seeing yourself and the Christ, You Will Find Your True Worship

John Gill The whole book is a rich mine of grace and evangelical truths, and a large fund of spiritual experience; and is abundantly suited to every case, state, and condition, that the church of Christ, or particular believers, are in at any time.

Conclusion

A Sign of a Mature Christian

Is not one who appears to have no problems

But one who is growing more and more amazed of this grace found in Jesus

And as that grows, so does the understanding that he deserves more and more worship than I am currently giving

Are you convicted with your lack of worship as of late? Good

Our God honors humility

Let the book of Psalms lead you into greater worship