Our Public Worship

Our Public Worship (Perspectives on Christian Worship, chapter 3, Logos)

Leviticus is about worship. I mentioned that in the introduction.

According to Hebrews 41:16 We are allowed to come boldly – the Jews in Leviticus 1 had to bring an offering to GOD in hopes that HE, GOD might accept the offering an allow them/ the offeror, to have time with GOD. For the Jew, approaching God was inherently dangerous. HE could kill them if HE found their offering unacceptable. They approached HIM with that in mind.

Incense was used in these offerings, and it was a sensory reminder that you had entered into a different place, a place of worship. It was used to make it a pleasant experience.

For the Christian and the modern worship, we don’t use incense, we use music. Music reminds us that we have entered into a different place and that it’s a pleasant place, a safe place. We have entered into the Sanctuary.

Furthermore, we are allowed to come boldly (Hebrews 4:16) and yet we come with a bit too much familiarity, acknowledging Him as God but failing to acknowledge His holiness. We come with a lack of true worship.

I’ll give you an example from the secular community. During certain seasons of the year musical icons will put out “special albums” wherein they sing well known hymns or gospel type music. The rest of year, however they are on public display, half naked and making obscene gestures with their bodies. From these special albums they receive revenue and God receives nothing, certainly not worship.

Do we behave any differently HERE than we do anywhere else? What happens here should mean something. Does it?

READ Psalm 29. Clearly, this GOD deserves our worship.

Psalm 29:2 define worship. “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

“In the beauty of holiness” – What is that? According to Webster, Holiness is:

HO'LINESS, noun [from holy.] The state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral character; freedom from sin; sanctity. Applied to the Supreme Being, holiness denotes perfect purity or integrity of moral character, one of his essential attributes.

Who is like thee, glorious in holiness? Exodus 15:11.

1. Applied to human beings, holiness is purity of heart or dispositions; sanctified affections; piety; moral goodness, but not perfect.

Worship, means to bow down; to prostrate oneself before a superior. It is an expression of reverence and adoration of God.

So, to simplify it, our worship should be the state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral character; all the while being beautiful before GOD, even as we were created to be imagers of HIM. Holiness is a beautiful thing.

That means we should look like GOD while we are worshiping GOD.

“To say it a little differently, worship is declaring—with our lips and lives—that God is more important than anything else to us, that He is our deepest desire, that His inherent worth is beyond everything else we hold dear.” (Perspectives On Christian Worship : Chapter 3 : Ligon Duncan)

What our worship ought to look like.

1. We ought to Read The Bible In Our Public Worship – it is the Word of God

a. 1 Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

b. Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

2. We ought to Preach The Bible In Our Public Worship

a. Preaching is meant to be the means of explaining that the scripture says.

i. The word “Preach” is used 145 times in the KJV

b. Again, Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

c. During the greatest growth of the Church, they preached daily:

i. Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

ii. Acts 9:20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

iii. Acts 14:7 And there they preached the gospel.

d. Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

e. 1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

f. The WORD of GOD must be Preached! above all else.

3. We ought to Pray The Bible In Our Public Worship

a. Matthew 21:13 It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

i. Should we not consider if robbing GOD, not to pray His word?

ii. Do you not know that your prayers ought to be laced and woven through with the word of God, as well as the promises of God? “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14. (Praying the words of God)

4. We ought to Sing The Bible In Our Public Worship

a. Psalm 98:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

b. Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

c. Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

d. It’s not about a style of singing - Our singing MUSTbe biblical!

e. The hymns are rich with theology and doctrines.

5. We ought to See The Bible In Our Public Worship

a. I think the Bible should be seen in how we dress and how we speak.

b. I think the Bible should be seen in how we acknowledge the Holy Ground upon which we worship.

c. If you’ve been taught the Bible (and believe it) then it should be visibly evident.

d. I think it would be more than appropriate if we were to see weeping in our worship as well, after all, Jesus wept.

e. The Sacraments – visible symbols of the gospel

i. Baptisms – Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

ii. The Lord’s Supper – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (this do in remembrance of me) – Today is a 5th Sunday, normally set aside for the Lord’s Supper, so let’s at least talk about it.

f.

So how do we close this message on Our Public Worship?

God is not to be some small aspect of your life, something you focus on once a week or ten minutes each morning. HE is GOD and HE is worthy of our praise all day, every day.

I fear that many of us are clueless of what it means to truly worship GOD. At bare minimum, HE should be more important to us than any other thing in our life. Then and only then we might have a chance of worshiping Him in a manner deserving of such a God as He who died that we might live.

One of the best ways to worship God would be to spend time with Him each and every day.

To give Him praise for every good thing in our life, for every good and perfect gift is from above.

by striving to be like Him – we were created in His image. Oh, to be a thousandfold more holy than I am, that I might be just an inkling (a hint, a whisper, an imitation) of what Christ is.

We worship by spreading the gospel – this is the great commission, to go into all the world…

We worship Him by giving Him preeminence in our life. Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy. Psalm 99:5. That means he is exalted, and we bow before Him; without Him we are consumed.

Are you able to worship the One who died for you that you might live? Our worship is seen the most in how we choose to live for Him.

5 times in the Book of Revelation (4:10, 5:8;14, 11:16, 19:4) we see the 24 elders fall upon their face and worship God, and lastly we see John do it. (Revelation 22:8).

You want to publicly worship God, fall upon you face and worship Him.

Now, examine yourself and see if you worship Him in Spirit and in Truth or do you worship Him at all.

WOULD YOU STAND, HEADS BOWED, EYES CLOSED…