THIS I BELIEVE
Historic Christian Faith in the modern world
Week 1:
- The Christian faith has done the MOST GOOD of any other faith/philosophy
Week 2:
- Faith is: Trusting in God
Week 3:
- The problem with us/world and the solution in Jesus
- Sin
- Confession
Week 4:
- Christian Love is Sacrificial love
Today, we’re talking about WORSHIP
- A very misunderstood word for many of us
When we hear the word worship, What comes to mind?
- Music
- Lights/sound
- Piano/organ
- Christian concert
- Playing music in your car
The common denominator there is “MUSIC“
We have improperly placed worship into a BOX
- Where worship is tied to music
While that is true in some cases, this is NOT what Christian worship is all about
The BIG question:
What is Christian worship?
Worship is the act of Assigning ultimate value to something
- Worship: to sacrifice, adore, strive for
Christian Worship is NOT:
1: Not Only An Emotional Experience
- Certainly emotions, but is not all
True worship engages the MIND, BODY, and SPIRIT
- The whole person
2: Not Only in Church
- Private and public
- More about that later
3: Not about US
- Worship is focused on the OBJECT OF WORSHIP, not the worshipper
To better explain what Christian worship is…
>>Story of the Woman at the Well (John 4)<<
John 4
21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”
Spirit and Truth
>>What did Jesus Mean by Spirit?<<
- Must Originate from the HEART
- Be Sincere
- Motivated by love for God
This means:
- Not Mechanical
Worshiping in Spirit is similar…
- Not formulaic
- Authentic
- From the HEART
- It really means something
>>What did Jesus Mean by Truth?<<
- Rooted to the realities of Biblical Truth
- Worshiping who God really is
- Not who we want Him to be
- Not Mindless
- Not Ignorant
What we sing/say/Believe Matters
The thing to know is…
God is PERSONAL in His Nature
- He desires to be known and makes Himself KNOWABLE
Worshiping in Spirit and Truth means worshiping a KNOWABLE God through revealed truth and personal Relationship
God is NOT FAR OFF, but He is ALWAYS CLOSE BY
Practically, what does this mean?
Some prefer to only worship in SPIRIT…
- Their emotions take over
- too much truth can “quench the spirit”
- Worship all about the “THRILLS AND CHILLS”
- Worship is judged by the “EXPERIENCE” alone
Worship should absolutely be “SPIRIT FILLED”
- Asking the Holy Spirit to meet us here
Matt. 15:7–8
7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said: 8 This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Worship is pursuing the heart of God
- To know him more…
But…
Any affection or feeling, or emotion stirred up by error or false doctrine is worthless
Some prefer to only worship in TRUTH…
- Emotions are a distraction
- Lifeless and dull
- Denying the Power of God’s Spirit
Pastor John Piper once Said…
Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full . . . of artificial admirers. . . . On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the disciple of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship.
What this ultimately means is that Christian worship engages both:
THE MIND
&
THE HEART
- The whole person
The last question is…
What does a LIFE OF WORSHIP look like?
Romans 12:1
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
You are created to worship
- You WILL Worship something
Earlier, we said:
Worship is the act of Assigning ultimate value to something
- to sacrifice, adore, strive for
We see it all the time:
People Worship: (sacrifice everything for…)
- Success
- Sex (build a whole identity on)
- Kid
- Fame/Money
- Leaders
- Ideas
Here’s the problem:
Each of those things will ONLY TAKE from you, and never give anything back
Only God deserves our worship
- Not just because He’s God
- This is reason enough as it is
- But because ONLY HE can give us what we truly crave
- MORE OF HIMSELF
- HIS GLORY
- HIS PRESENCE
There’s a longing in us that only God can fulfill because he’s the one that put it there
- Nothing else in this world will satisfy that longing but God Himself
Psalm 95
1 Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout triumphantly to him in song.
3 For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.
4 The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks are his.
5 The sea is his; he made it. 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, the sheep under his care.Today, if you hear his voice:
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness
9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was disgusted with that generation; I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray; they do not know my ways.”
11 So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest.”
A life of worship is to KNOW:
- Rest
- Peace
- Continent
Because Only God is worth building a life on
- Only he is worth ultimate value