Explosive Love: Why We Worship God

Text: Exodus 15:1-18 “1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. 2 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him! 3 The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is his name! 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and army he has hurled into the sea. The finest of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The deep waters gushed over them; they sank to the bottom like a stone. 6 “Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, smashes the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty, you overthrow those who rise against you. You unleash your blazing fury; it consumes them like straw. 8 At the blast of your breath, the waters piled up! The surging waters stood straight like a wall; in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard. 9 “The enemy boasted, ‘I will chase them and catch up with the…”

Introduction:Since the day I was saved, worship has been a vastly important part of my life. But as most new Christians do, I related the word “worship” to the time on Wednesday night where my “rockstar” youth pastor would play these awesome songs and we’d go totally nuts and get all emotional and “worship God.” If someone other than Pastor Jimmy played, or I thought the song was lame then the worship “wasn’t good.” Or if I was in a bad mood or didn’t get was I was looking for out of it then I viewed the worship as “not good.” This is not what God has in mind for worship. It is not a vehicle of preparation for the pastor’s sermon. Worship is not a rock concert that we are supposed to enjoy. In fact worship can have very little to do with music. God doesn’t want us to enjoy the worship; He wants us to enjoy Him. John Piper writes, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”

Over the next three weeks, we will be looking at what it really means to worship God, what that should look like on Thursday nights, and what it looks like in our daily life. So often new Christians miss the point, where as mature Christians overcomplicate the issue or try to make it a religious act.

Thesis: Worship is the act of freely and selflessly loving God.

Transition: Three reasons why we worship God:

I. We worship God because of who He is.

a. We give love and adoration to God because of who He is. He is not just a fairy tale. He is not just a bible story.

i. God is first and foremost GOD!

1. God is the creator of all heaven and earth (Genesis)

2. He is the same God today, as he was thousands of years ago (Exodus 15:2)

3. There is one else like Him. (Exodus 15:11)

4. He is eternal and will reign forever (Exodus 15:18)

ii. God is mighty and powerful

1. He is a mighty warrior (Exodus 15:3)

2. The bible calls him the Lord of Hosts over 230 times! (roughly translated Lord of heavenly armies)

iii. God is love.

1. His love is boundless (Psalm 36:5)

2. His love extends to all (Psalm 36:7)

3. His love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3)

4. He takes delight in us (Zephaniah 3:17)

5. He calls us his children (1 John 3:1)

b. Worship is the glorification of God because of who He is.

II. We worship God because of what He has done.

a. We give love and adoration to God because of what He has done for us.

i. He is our strength.

1. He is our strength when the odds are stacked against us (Exodus 15:2)

2. He is our stronghold and refuge during times of trouble (2 Samuel 2:23)

3. He gives us the strength to conquer the devil (Psalm 18:39)

ii. He is our joy

1. We find joy in his victories (Exodus 15:2)

2. We find joy in his presence (Psalm 16:11)

3. We find joy in his salvation (I Samuel 2:1)

iii. He is our salvation

1. He fights our battle for us (Exodus 15)

2. He paid the price for our sins (1 Peter 2:24, 1 Corinthians 6:20)

a. so we could find righteousness

b. so we could be healed

iv. He is our victory

1. When the enemy pursues god provides a way of victory (Exodus 15:9-10)

2. He defeated death (Revelation 1:17-18)

b. Worship is our gratitude to God because of what He has done.

III. We worship God because of what He promises to do.

a. We give love and adoration to God because of what He promises to do. These are just some of the promises that we have in God.

i. He promises to get us through the trials, into where He wants us (Exodus 15:17)

ii. He promises to give us peace (Philippians 4:7)

iii. He promises us everlasting life (John 5:24)

iv. He promises to be with us (Joshua 1:9)

v. He promises to return! (John 14:2-3)

vi. He promises us paradise (Revelation 7:14-17)

b. Worship is our delight in God because of what He promises to do.

Close: After hearing the reasons we worship God, you may have noticed wrong motives in your heart or wrong ideas in your mind behind why you worship. I invite you to worship God now, as His word says (in spirit and in truth) for who He is, what He has done, and what he promises to do. From this moment on, let it be more than words or songs to you but the actions of your heart in glorification, gratitude, and delight.

Salvation Call

Call to Worship