Worthy of Worship
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· 6 viewsGod is worthy of all worship and praise and the first step in worship to the Lord is repentance and the second step is to respond in faith.
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Introduction
Psalms 76–150 I. Introduction
Whenever a monarch of the British Empire ascends to the throne of England, the royal coronation is traditionally held at historic Westminster Abbey, London. This dramatic service has been the venue for every British ascension since 1066. On this solemn occasion, the sovereign-to-be proceeds to Westminster Abbey to the playing of “I Was Glad,” accompanied by the acclamations of the Westminster Scholars, representing the shouts of approval of the people. The sovereign, seated in the coronation chair, is anointed with oil, followed by the crowning with St. Edward’s crown. This is the most solemn moment of this august occasion.
The sovereign then rises from the coronation chair and moves to the throne, the first time the crowned king or queen is visible to the gathered dignitaries. This is when the monarch takes possession of the British Empire. The sovereign, now crowned and visible, is ready to receive the homage of the people. The archbishop speaks to the congregation three separate times, “I present to you [the sovereign’s name]. Will you do her/him homage?” The people, seeing their sovereign now robed, crowned, and enthroned, respond three times with shouts of acclamation, “We will.”
Psalms 76–150 I. Introduction
Psalm 95 is a passionate call to the people of God to praise the Lord, who is sovereign above all supposed gods, who are but lowly idols of gold, silver, wood, and stone.
We must recognize the truth that our God, the only true God, is worthy of all glory, honor, praise, and worship. He alone is worthy.
Focus Passage
1 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord, Let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving, Let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments.
3 For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are also His.
5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down, Let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, As on the day of Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers put Me to the test, They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 “For forty years I was disgusted with that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways.
11 “Therefore I swore in My anger, They certainly shall not enter My rest.”
Outline
A Call to Worship (Psalm 95:1-5)
A Call to Worship (Psalm 95:1-5)
The Psalmist calls the people of God to worship Him. He writes Come, let’s sing…Let’s shout…Let’s come…Come, let’s worship.
As the archbishop call out to the people of England to pay homage to their new sovereign, the Psalmist calls out to the people of God and says, will you pay homage, give honor, and worship your King. The Psalmist calls the people of God to worship God because...
1. God is worthy of all worship for He is the Creator of all - ‘...In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are also His. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land...’
1. God is worthy of all worship for He is the Creator of all - ‘...In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are also His. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land...’
2. God is worthy of all worship for He is the King of all - ‘…And a great king above all gods...’
2. God is worthy of all worship for He is the King of all - ‘…And a great king above all gods...’
All that we put before God are nothing but idols of wood, hay, and stubble. They will never amount to anything and will burn up in the fire. God is King of all. As Paul wrote to young Timothy about our God and Savior...
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
He is worthy of worship and praise. For He is King.
3. God is worthy of all worship for He is the only true God - ‘…For the Lord is a great God...’
3. God is worthy of all worship for He is the only true God - ‘…For the Lord is a great God...’
The prophet Isaiah wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit...
6 “This is what the Lord says, He who is the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of armies: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.
A Heart of Worship (Psalm 95:6-7)
A Heart of Worship (Psalm 95:6-7)
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down, Let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.
The Psalmist wants the people of God to realize Who they are to worship and why they are to worship Him. He wants them to know God is worthy of all worship. He wants the people of God to have a heart of worship. He wants the people of God to genuinely worship God with their heart not their motions. He wants the people of God to have a worship that exceeds the worship of what Isaiah the prophet prophesied of the people of God and Jesus stated of the worship of the religious leaders of His day.
13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught;
8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.
So how does one go from lip service to heart service? How does one truly begin to worship the Lord? We begin with with recognizing what a heart of worship is.
1. A heart of worship has a proper attitude
1. A heart of worship has a proper attitude
The Psalmist writes, Come, let’s worship and bow down…before the Lord. The Psalm tells the people of God to lay prostrate before the Lord. He is not speaking of a physical laying prostrate before the Lord, but a position of heart. For one to truly worship the Lord, they must have a genuine spirit of humility. They must leave ego and pride at the door of the sanctuary. There is no room for pride in the economy of God. There is no room for pride in the heart of worship.
As we find throughout the Scripture, God resist the proud but embraces the humble.
34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the needy.
6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God is opposed to the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.
2. A heart of attitude has a proper position
2. A heart of attitude has a proper position
The Psalmist once again writes, Come, let’s worship and…kneel before the Lord. The idea of kneeling before the king was a testament of self humiliation, volunteer servitude, and submission. We are to place ourselves before God with a position of servanthood. We are must realize that we are His and we are not our own. As he writes, For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand (v.7). As David wrote...
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need.
David understood what we must understand today. We are not the sheep of self, but our Shepherd is God Almighty. We must begin to take ourselves off the throne of worship and place Him there. If we do this we will begin to see things in a whole knew light.
As I was preparing for this message I was reminded of John the Baptist. He was baptizing on one side of the sea and Jesus, with his disciples who were baptizing, were on the other side of the Jordan in Judea. A disciple of John’s came to him and asked about Jesus’ disciples baptizing on the other side, and John tells them that I am not the Christ but He is. His joy was made complete in the work of Jesus and he states...
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Brothers and sisters if we are to truly have a heart of worship, we must decrease so that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can increase.
Worship begins with two steps...
Worship Begins With… (vv.7c-10)
Worship Begins With… (vv.7c-10)
Psalm 95:7c–10 (NASB 2020)
7c ...Today, if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, As on the day of Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers put Me to the test, They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 “For forty years I was disgusted with that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways.
1. Worship begins with the step of repentance - ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah...’
1. Worship begins with the step of repentance - ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah...’
The Psalmist brings to remembrance the time in the wilderness when the Israelites argued with Moses and through accusations against God and Moses. They cried out, has God brought us here to die. We are thirsty. They doubted God. They grumbled against God’s provision. God cursed them for this.
Many within the church today, are being as the Israelites in Meribah. Rather than trust God, they are arguing with God. They are grumbling against God and God’s man. Rather than follow God’s word and follow the leadership God has provided, they wish to gripe, grumble, and resist. Many of us within the church today are stiff necked and hard hearted.
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.
51 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
Brothers and sisters, what God wants is for us unstiffen our necks and unharden our hearts through the working of the Holy Spirit and become genuinely repentant and turn from our sin, our pride, and our self worship and come back to the heart of worship.
7 Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.
Many of today need to do as David and ask God to show us the error of our ways and to give us clean hands and clean hearts.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
10 Create in me a clean heart, God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
2. Worship continues with the step of faith
2. Worship continues with the step of faith
We begin to trust God for those things that will be as if they already are despite the fact they are not yet. This is truly what faith is.
1 Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.
We are called to be a people of faith. We are live by faith.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—
We must understand that we cannot please God without faith.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.
Conclusion
There are those that will never know what is like to have peace, joy, and excitement in their life. The peace and joy that comes through genuine worship is easily replicated. The Psalmist writes, let’s sing for joy to the Lord…shout joyfully. Why was it that the Psalmist could write sing for joy…shout joyfully? Because he knew that there was one source for joy. Once source only that could sustain him, provide for him, and encourage him. He knew that one source of life was the rock of our salvation.
The rock of our salvation is a metaphor, a picture, of the rock that Moses struck and brought water to the people of Israel while they were at Meribah. That water from that rock saved them. That water from the rock sustained them. Within that moment we see a picture of the true Rock of our Salvation Jesus Christ. Many will never enter into God’s rest because they have never accepted Christ, through faith, as Lord and Savior. As Psalmist wrote then as a warning, I now read to you as a warning, Therefore I swore in My anger, They certainly shall not enter My rest.
12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
13 But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.