Atomic (3)

Hey Vertical. So happy and excited to be here with you tonight! Speaking of tonight. We bring our Atomic series to an end. Hopefully you remember that the small habits in your life will make a great impact over the long-run

Now I am willing to bet that we are all passionate about something. But let me show you a video and see if you know what this people is passionate about

VIDEO | A Clip of Beatlemania (1:20-1:49)

• Does anyone know what all of these people were so passionate about? The Beatles! These days, it might be common to see people get totally obsessed with certain celebrities or musicians, but this was the first time the world had seen anything like this on this scale.

Now, you may know that I am really passionate about woodworking. I actually spend a lot of my time watching and even doing things related to woodworking.

• It's cool to be passionate about something, but sometimes the things we love can actually become objects of worship.

Worship: extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem

How do you know if you worship something?

• Whether it's God, BTS, sports, or your girlfriend, how do you know if you worship something?

• When you worship something, you can usually tell through your actions. You might . . .

o Hang pictures of it in your locker.

o Talk about it a lot.

o Give it a lot of your time, energy, and attention.

o Make sacrifices for it.

• God cares about what we worship! It's probably no surprise that I'm going to suggest worshiping God is a good idea, but does that mean we can’t spend time and energy on anything else? Do we have to give up any hobby we get a little bit obsessed with? Of course not! But we can develop habits that help us give God our worship — and not just when we're at church.

If we ever want to understand worship better, the book of Psalms is always a great place to go. So I want to give you a few principles that relate to worship that we can find in the Psalms

Prioritize your worship

Psalm 63 “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Approach God with humility

Psalm 51 “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Engage your heart, your mind and your body in Praise

Psalm 150 “1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

You commitment to worship is tied up directly to your understanding of grace.

Luke 7 tells us of a woman that was not embarrased to Worship Jesus with ALL that she had.

Application:

Make it a habit to engage in worship through praise as often as you can.

Make it a habit to evaluate the object of your worship consistently.