sermon2022 Worship: The Ultimate Priority

sermon2022 Worship: The Ultimate Priority Mike Thorburn The Values of West Hills Worship John 4:23–24 ESV 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” This morning I would like to encourage you to continue to seek, or possibly discover, the joy of being a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week worshiper of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, if you were asked this week, what are you up to?, or, what’s on your calendar this week?, rather than saying going to work, or picking up groceries, or doing laundry, or taking the kids to their lessons and practices, the answer you would immediately have on the tip of your tongue is: I am worshipping, I am loving, I am thinking all the day long about my wonderful Savior Jesus Christ. It’s like the old worship song says, This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, all the day long. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine What kind of Christian am I? The obvious response is to say that I am a real Christian. Or a bible believing Christian. Or an evangelical Christian. And these are all good. Worship Community Mission The series that we are in is essentially asking you to understand that you seek to also be: A Christian who cannot do it alone - I value Community A Christian who sees the needs all around me - I value Mission A Christian who is seeking to exalt Christ in every aspect of my life - I value Worship To be this kind of Christian is to understand that you need to receive Christ as your Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:47 AM July 21, 2022. 1 Savior. You need to be immersed in the Word of God. And you need to share your story of God’s grace and forgiveness with as many people as possible. And, most important, you need to understand that this takes more than one or two hours on a Sunday morning. Community - Mission - Worship: each of these demands that we see the Christian life as more than responsibility that we add to our already oversized list of responsibilities. Being a Christian is what we are, not what we do. It’s all consuming, all pervasive. It is a life that has been transformed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We are dead to sin and alive to Christ, so alive that Christ is not just the only thing, He is everything. (1) The Principles of Worship Two verses which point at this all consuming, all pervasive Christina life are found in Matthew 22 and 1 Thessalonian 5 Matthew 22:37 ESV 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. There are a multitude of books written about worship in the church. But when we ask what it means to worship, when we are asked to define worship, perhaps these two verses define worship more than anything. And so, the purpose of this morning’s message is to 192 passages that mention the word worship Genesis 4:3–4 ESV 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, After the Fall something is wrong. You can offer wrong worship. You can’t just do what you want when you want how you want. Genesis 22:5 ESV 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:47 AM July 21, 2022. 2 Genesis 24:26 ESV 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 1 Samuel 15:22 ESV 22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 2 Samuel 24:24 ESV 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 1 Corinthians 14:24–25 ESV 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. Hebrews 4:16 ESV 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 13:15 ESV 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (2) The times of worship Corporate - no Lone Ranger worship Acts 2:42 ESV 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Family worship Personal (3) The Perspective of Worship Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:47 AM July 21, 2022. 3 The triune God is the focus of our worship. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the audience. We are not the audience, we are not the consumer. Those leading the service are not the performers, they are the prompters - reminding us, pushing us, helping us to RC Sproul - People in awe never complain that church is boring (4) The ingredients of worship Faith Hebrews 11:4 ESV 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Hebrews 11:6 ESV 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Expectation & Examination James 4:8 ESV 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lean In Are you a person who worships or are you a worshiper? Have you placed worship into a box? Are you a, I only worship in nature, or I only worship in a building, or I only worship when everything is perfect and calm and just the way you like it? Do you have the Ingredients of Worship? Do you come in faith? Have you given your life to Christ? Do you come in awe and expectation? Do you come prepared with a heart that has experience self examination? Do you come with a heart full of love and gratitude, a heart that wants to draw near to Christ? And more than one day a week, do you go to bed every night with a posture of Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:47 AM July 21, 2022. 4 worship, do you get up every morning with an attitude of worship, will you commit to see everything you do as an act of worship? Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:47 AM July 21, 2022. 5