Transition Sunday

OFFERING

Can we agree with this statement, that as Churches regather, refocus, rethink, and rebuild ministry models post COVID-19, we must keep shifting the primary message from “come and see” to “go and tell.”

Pastors and church leaders aren’t meant to bear the burden of outreach and discipleship alone.

Instead, the burden of outreach should always include each of us-- the Body of Christ into God’s mission.

Each of us must be prepared for the work of the harvest according to Matt 9:37–38,

Matthew 9:37–38 NLT

He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

and according to Luke 9:2, sending them out to proclaim the gospel.

Luke 9:2 NLT

Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

MISSION SUNDAY-MISSION SUNDAY

UPDATES

MidWeek

—-— last lesson Unstoppable

Facebook

—-— keep sharing

Prayer 952

FRIENDDAY-Sept. 19: ComeBack Sunday

—-— who will you invite?

LESSON TIME

HONORING GOD IN WORSHIP

I Have a Burden for Us

We worship to fuel new expressions of love based on our commitment to God as we reverence and give the respect which is due to him.

Introduction

I believe these expressions of love get jacked up as we often have a Weekly rhythm of Church vs a Daily rhythm with God.

The wrath of Mama is often feared more than God and what he desires in our lives.

STORY – boy! I’m gonna slap you into next week!!

So, discovering a greater understanding of reverence and respect for God, we can reveal a deeper life of worship.

Worship that is fueled from the inside out.

GOD’S PEOPLE MUST HONOR HIM

Psalm 22:23 (ESV) — 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

What keeps people from

honoring God?

The FEAR OF THE LORD!

i.e. a holy reverence for the creator of heaven and hell

Many Ways of Honoring God

By holy living

1 Corinthians 6:18–20 (ESV) — 18 Flee from sexual immorality.

By keeping the Sabbath and religious feasts

Leviticus 19:30 (ESV) — 30 You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

By showing kindness to others

Proverbs 14:31 (ESV) — 31 Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

By honoring his name and his word

Malachi 3:16b (ESV) — 16b …a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.

I REMEMBER WHEN? – Maybe you too?

Marcie and I have discussed events over the years about our six older adult children and my comment is usually naming the wrong kid to the wrong event. We remember best when we write those stories down…

Thus, we honor God by honoring His Name and His Word.

Other ways we honor our God is …

By acknowledging him as God

Daniel 3:28a (ESV) — 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego…

Charles H. Spurgeon, the renowned nineteenth-century English Baptist minister (1834–1892) said,

“We ought not to be satisfied with a superficial hope that Jesus loves us, and with a bare trust that we love him.”

He goes on and talks about how

“The old saints did not generally speak with “buts,” and “ifs,” and “hopes,” and “trusts,” but they spoke positively and plainly. “I know whom I have believed,” saith Paul. “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” saith Job.”

We need a— “...positive knowledge of our love of Jesus, and not be satisfied till we can speak of our interest in him as a reality, which we have made sure by having received the witness of the Holy Spirit, and his seal upon our souls by faith.

(Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster.)

Thus, we honor God by Acknowledging Him as God.

By giving tithes and offerings to him

Proverbs 3:9–10 (ESV) — 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

By proclaiming his deeds

Isaiah 63:7 (ESV) — 7a I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us…

By obeying him

John 14:15 (ESV)—15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. [1]

TODAY LET’S FOCUS ON JUST ONE OF THESE NINE WAYS—

you can study these other ways in your own Bible Study.

WE HONOR GOD BY WORSHIPING HIM

What we are talking about this morning is are actions that hinge on Respect and Reverence for Hod is Honorable.

The Action flow from knowing the Subject—God.

We CANNOT worship if we are burdened with sin.

Isaiah 43:22–24 (ESV) — 22 “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! 23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense. 24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

People with a BAD PAST can worship God.

Daniel 4:34 (ESV) — 34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation…

We start worship with a SACRIFICE for sin —JESUS and then worship from the cross.

Ephesians 5:2 (NLT)

2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Romans 12:1–2 (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.

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 Thessalonians 4:7–8 (ESV) — 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

1 Peter 1:15–16 (ESV) — 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

We worship for WHO GOD IS—God!

Our worship is not based on our circumstances or pleasure.

Our worship should be totally based on WHO HE IS —God!

King of the Ages

1 Timothy 1:17 (ESV) — 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:15–16 (ESV) — 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

Revelation 4:8–11 (ESV) — 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

We Worship Him Alone

Isaiah 26:13 (ESV) — 13 O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance.

1 Chronicles 16:23–26 (ESV) — 23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

Psalm 145:3–7 (ESV) — 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

BACK TO CHARLES SPURGEON…

In the devotional book Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon (Morning, September 3) he said...

Because He First Loved Us

...Why do we love Jesus? Because he first loved us.

Why do we love Jesus? Because he “gave himself for us.”

We have life through his death;

we have peace through his blood.

Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.

Why do we love Jesus? Because of the excellency of his person.

[WHEN WE HONOR GOD — REVERENCE AND RESPECT GROWS AND WE BEGIN TO SEE THE WONDER!]

We are filled with a sense of his BEAUTY!

His WONDER . His charms! Not Magic.

HEAR THIS...

In Deuteronomy 18--The people of God are instructed to avoid magical practices because God provides them with his personal revelation through his prophets.

Human magical practices lead to either false hope or false fear and therefore lead away from the truth of God.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Magic. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1376). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Charles H. Spurgeon adds...

His greatness, goodness, and loveliness… enchant the soul till it is so ravished that it exclaims,

“Yea, he is altogether lovely.”

[THE PLAQUE]

… a love which binds the heart with chains more soft than silk, and yet more firm than stone!

So, Why do we love Jesus?

1 John 4:19 ESV

We love because he first loved us.

Lastly, In Honoring God we can...

Sing, Shout, Proclaim, and Give Thanks

Isaiah 12:4–6 (ESV) — 4 And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. 6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

This word “thanks” is not just speaking or to sing—

the Hebrew rendering is action filled—to throw, cast

So the Hebrew is about the EXPRESSION of praise; give thanks; confess

to give thanks, praise.

CLOSING STATEMENTS

God’s people must honor him through praise and worship—a life of faith in action this is based on a ...

FEAR OF THE LORD!

Psalm 22:23 (ESV) — 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

QUESTION

Based on what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us today—do we Fear the Lord?

Are we honoring God in the way we know we should?

Is our Life a life of praise and worship that is bringing transformation daily?

This transforming revelation of worshiping God

is more than just about transforming our Lives, It is also about a transformed Legacy that will impact our whole family/linage.

PtL!

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 14:15). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.