God!
Hey, china!
Is he?
I wonder? Oh!
Yeah.
To that the guardian of in space.
Oh! The star!
He's tenderly bye!
And the Lord of all. Okay.
Hey!
So I, who came down to play!
So! Oh!
He cried.
Crown here, brush!
Oh!
So!
You may or may not recognize that song, but whether you do or not, I'm sure you recognize the sentiment.
It was what we were looking at during the Lord's Supper hour.
Worship. And this is what I wanna talk about this morning, how to worship the importance of worship, what he can do for us and how we approach it.
It's very interesting how important worship is in Scripture, for instance, have you ever noticed there are 56 verses in Genesis one and 2 about the creation of the universe and creation of mankind, and all the animals 56 versus for that but there are 243
versus describing how they're supposed to build a tabernacle will worship as opposed to take place.
How important worship was to guys how important worship was to us to understand worship you know, it's really not that complicated a concept.
Some people make it more complicated than it actually is.
Definition of worship is simple honor paid to a superior being.
It's really nothing more than that I could sit down now.
And yeah, I won't.
Worship we see throughout the Scripture so many different ways, but all ways in which glorify God.
Actually this chapter 30 versus 34, through 38, then the Lord said to Moses, Take for yourself spices, stack T.
And Anika and Gaub banam spices with pure frankincense.
There shall be an equal part of each with it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer assaulted, pure and holy.
You shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you.
It shall be most wholly to you. The incense which you shall make.
You shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves, it shall be holy to you, for the Lord, whoever shall make it make any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his piece.
One, scholar I met told me that was the best perfume.
Imaginable. Those spices put together, it would be the most expensive.
It would. It was so expensive they weren't quite sure what it was worth.
It was that good only use for work, for worship. No one else could use it.
Why? Because it was the best and the best goal to Jehovah.
One that I couldn't understand for a long time is in second Samuel 23.
David had a craving, and said Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gates.
They're running from the Philistines here. So to 3 mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines.
And drew water from the well of Bethlehem.
Which was by the gauge, and took it and brought it to David.
Nevertheless he would not drink it purported on to the Lord any he said, be it far from me, oh Lord, that I should do this!
Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?
Therefore he would not drink it. These things that 3 mighty men did, and I thought they went through all this trouble.
They risk their lives to get him a drink of water from this well, any port it out.
Now there was nothing special about this water. It was water, nothing spectacular.
But these 3 men risk their lives to get this water, and because they risk their lives to get this water, it was the best water.
And the best goes to Jehovah.
And in the New Testament.
We see John, chapter 12, verse 3, we read, Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume, a pure nard and anointed defeat of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
She used her hair.
First Corinthians, 11 states that the glory of a woman is her hair.
She gave the best she had, she gave her glory to the Lord.
Exams of giving the best to Jehovah. I found throughout the Scripture we could take hours and hours just looking at those.
And let's remember something.
Worship also affects us, sure, we're giving the best to the Creator, the one who deserves the best but worship is what we need.
Also it helps us. Now there are all these high school kids here.
Other high school kids here. Still, what did they all leave?
We hope they left. I hope they're here. Come on!
I'm just into it's not that bad yet, is it?
Okay, so.
If you are going to college, Secular University, if you are planning on going or are in it.
Now remember this, your faith will be mocked.
It will happen. You can't avoid it. They will laugh at you.
There have been cases where people have to deny their beliefs and or they get a passing grade in a class.
Our son is teaching a high School Sunday school class right now, and there are 2 girls in that class right now are facing that situation.
They have to deny what they believe. They get a passing grade.
It will happen now. One of the mistakes that secular archaeologists and anthropologists make is how they decide how Israel became worshippers of Jehovah, and this is what they will say.
This is one of many things you will hear. They say that the Israelis decided they needed to come together as a nation to unify themselves, and one the ways to unify it.
Nation is through religion. They looked at us all, the gods around them, and they said That's the one we want.
And then they took Jehovah. That's what that maybe, was a tribal god of one of the you know, of Dan or the tribe of of Levi, or whatever.
And then they made that their God they chose a god among bail or Malic, or Ashurth.
No, they get that wrong. Jehovah is not like all these other gods, and they just picked one.
Jehovah is different.
In Hosea, chapter 4, are we reading verse 2, and then verse 17.
Josea, writing what the Lord tells them to say.
Says there is swearing, deception, murder, stealing an adultery. They employ violence, so they're bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Okay. Things are bad. Jumping down on the verse 17, he says, Ephraim is joined to idols.
Let him alone!
They're worshiping idols, and they're doing all these terrible things a better and clearer examples in Psalm 10634, through 39.
Those are you following along, looking at different flipping pages?
Sorry about this.
They did not destroy the people's. As a lord commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and serve their idols, which became a snare to them.
They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.
How horrible! And shed innocent blood! The blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan and the land was polluted with the blood.
Thus they became unclean in their practices, and played the hardwood in their deeds.
Different guards. We're elicit different responses, evil idols, evil gods, evil actions.
Remember this maximum.
Think about this very, very important maxim, we become. What we behold. What we worship is what we will act like.
See that and think about it. Second, Corinthians, 3, 18.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding, as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Room is 8, 29. We are saved to be conformed to the image of his son.
He will be doing that as he, through the Holy Spirit, through our actions, through reading the Word.
But we, if we look to God, we will be like Him.
Worship makes us the kind of people we are. Also depression.
Psalm 78, we'll be there for a few minutes here, Psalm 73 is a very, off, quoted Psalm, as well.
It should be. Surely God is good to Israel. To those who are pure and heart.
But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling my steps, that almost slipped, and he goes on, but I was envious of the arrogance, and I saw the prosperity of the wicked, but there's no pains in their death and their body, is fat they are not in trouble.
as other men, nor are they plague like mankind.
That isn't right.
The evil people are getting by just fine. They're doing good.
We look at them, we envy them as much as we pray, and we try not to.
We do?
They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they playing like mankind.
We go on.
They say, How does God know? And is their knowledge with the Most High?
Do you know that? Okay, how many people here, of course, watch guardians of the galaxy in those movies?
No, the actor, the Chris Platt. I believe his name is.
He's mocked because he says he believes in God.
See the in order to get by in this day and age.
You gotta deny God plus that makes you more sophisticated.
And then these people get all this money these people get all this same. This people get all this glory. They drive around in Ferraris.
And verse 13 is a saddest verse of all.
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and wash my hands in innocence.
I have kept my heart pure here. The Psalmist as worship God.
He has stayed true to Jehovah. Well, what's in it for him?
What does he gotten out of it?
And we attempted to feel like that all the time.
We see that all the time we see the rich we see the celebrities.
And then the answer is verse 17, asap the Psalmist said, until I came into the sanctuary of God.
Then I proceed their end. He goes on and on, any ends for the whole.
Those who are far from you will perish. Verse 27.
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you, but as for me, the nearness of God is my good.
I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
Nothing has changed, the ungodly are still prosperity.
And the godly is still suffering. What has changed this attitude, and what changes attitude, worship?
I don't want to see a show of hands, but how many are you attempted to feel depressed?
If not, why not? Yes, please. Plenty of things to be depressed about.
There's health issues. There's money issues. There's people we love that deny the Lord and if you don't have any of those problems to think about, just watch the news for 3 h, binge, watch the news at the end.
You'll be in the depths of despair.
I've got the prescription. Try worship.
So what's does worship look like? There are many examples in Scripture, many I could turn to, but my personal favorite is in Luke, chapter 1, 46, through 55.
And Mary said, My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God.
My Savior for his head. Regard for the humble state of his bond slave, for behold, from this time on I'll generations will count me blessed for the mighty one is done great things for me, and holy is His name, and his mercies, upon generation after generation toward those who fear
him. He has done mighty deeds with his arm he has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He is brought down rulers from their phones, and as exalted those who were humble he's filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich, empty-handed is given help to Israel.
His servants, and remembrance of His mercy.
As he says to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever, that little set section of Scripture is known as Mary's magnificence, which is Latin for magnify so aren't you glad you came this morning?
You were magnificent means, magnifying Latin, you know.
So now you learn something.
What is interesting is. There are various theories, and a whole bunch of research.
And so how old Mary was when the angel came and told her when she became.
Once you can see by the Holy Spirit. There's been a lot of research.
Some of it is quite boring to read. If you have trouble sleeping, give me a call, and I'll read some of it for you.
But the best research I read was that she was somewhere between the ages of 12 and 14.
That was most likely. I will. She was.
So the thought hit me, wow! We can sure learn a lot about worship from a 13 year old girl, can't we?
Mary's magnificent is parallel with Hannah's song, and first, Samuel 2, one, through 10.
There are 15 illusions, and quotes in the old tests from the Old Testament.
In these 9 versus.
A point, must must be remembered is that worship must be grounded in the Word of God, otherwise it is just silly sentiment.
Believe me, I saw that when I was a chaplain in the army some chaplains would get up there and read something from Oscar Wilde or Socrates, and call it worship, and all.
It was is just another way of saying, Have a nice day.
Worship must be ground in the Word of God.
Spirit and truth. Make sure what you say and sing is grounded in the Bible.
And of course, what we're gonna look at all that was my introduction is the 4 points.
In the magnificent, the foundation of worship, the object of worship.
Thanksgiving and worship, and the expectation of worship.
The foundation of worship in verses 46, and 48.
And Mary said My soul exalts the Lord and my spirit as rejoicing, God, my seat, my soul!
Not just my mouth, not just going through the through the you know.
They, the ideas of just going through it, you know, going through the motions, what it's in my soul.
And people say, Well, if it's not in my soul, what's should I do?
Get it in your soul, pray about it. Look in the Scriptures!
You need to worship in amost being true praise starts inside, and that is why, when you're filled with this spirit, it overflows, and speaking to yourself, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
So my greatest times I've been alone in the woods, and I'm just worshipping and meditating on Scripture, and I find myself singing.
Sometimes a dog looks at me. Sounds terrible, you know, but I but I just but I just want to sing.
Cause I'm worshipped in my heart.
My soul, exalts the Lord and my Spirit, as rejoicing God, my Savior, our Savior, our salvation.
The wonderful reason I can worship, and frankly, the only reason.
That I can worship.
I had one godly man say to me one time, we are the only ones who have a right to laugh.
Because of our salvation.
You know, it's interesting back to going to college. One of the most exciting classes and I say that Stokesically is comparative religions classes.
That class will calm down a circus.
It really really is boring. And you have these unsafe people, professors who will pick up the Word of God.
And it means nothing to them that they might parse. It may understand.
Compare it to Babylon, and all sorts of other things.
We can understand the Scriptures, because only we have the Holy Spirit.
She rejoices, she exalts and verse 48.
She calls herself a bond slave, and that's totally different from the attitudes of people like the Pharisees, she calls herself a bond slave, and she's pretty much alluding to Psalm 1 36 23 who remembered us
in our lower state, far as loving, casting, loving kindness is everlasting.
A bond slave. She called her that herself, that in chapter one, verse 38, when Gabriel came to her she came.
He came to her, and she called herself a bond slave.
I don't deserve to be here, God, but I can enter in with boldness because of what Jesus Christ has done.
She was a bond slave, and now he allows her to come in.
Cousin Psalm 1 38, verse 6.
For those the Lord is exalted, yet he regards the lowly, but the hardy.
He knows from afar God has lifted us up.
A challenge I have for you. From this passage is to meditate, meditate, are the most important and profound truth imaginable.
Sometimes they say there's one truth that all of the truths are based on, and there is the most important truth in the history of the world is that Jesus loves me.
This I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones.
To him belong. They are a week, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me.
The most important truth you can look at.
Point 2. The object of worship versus 49 and 50, for the mighty one is done.
Great things for me, and Holy's His name and His mercies upon generation after generation, toward those who fear him.
He is mighty. Hey? Of course, is that word. I'm sure you've heard it.
In other sermons, from where we get dynamites.
He has power.
Is holy. We see that throughout the Scriptures we mentioned the fact that he is wholly he is different than us.
He is pure.
And she says that he has mercy.
Great things for me, his and his mercies upon generation after generation.
Mercy, pity assumes need. She knew she needed it now.
It is so flurious to say that God is to be the object of our worship.
You know he is omni present.
On the potent, omnipotent, an omniscient army science.
He is all these things.
He or she quotes from Psalm 103, verse 17. But the loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, and those who fear him and His righteousness to children's children.
The Psalms, are full of psalms that are just praise.
Of course there are psalms, a lamentation.
There are psalms of the history of Israel, but there are psalms that are just psalms to worship.
My challenge in this section is the next time you do your devotions, or sometime when you have a chance.
Don't ask for anything from God. Don't complain about whatever problems you may or may not have.
Just take a chunk of time, take a sum like some 103, and just worship.
Don't do anything else but that. Just put all your focus on him.
Meditate on His attributes, meditate on what is said about him.
We had a teacher.
In Bible school. Don and I both had them. We called him Doctor Doom.
You fought like a maniac for that C minus. Okay?
He!
Funny story. Somebody was walking to his office one time, you know. You get these papers back from them, these tests and all this red ink, and he's going. My gosh! Did he bleed on it?
I mean, you know. And they opened someone.
They opened up his desk. He had 7 empty red big pens, so the rumor we started.
College kids was too much time on their hands was that he was keeping trophies.
He was keeping trophies of all with this one I failed.
7 students. With this one, I say, okay, 19, yeah, I can say, college kids are too much time on his hand on their hands.
Okay. So he tough tough teacher. Doctor doctor Mayor was actually his name, but he told us in theology class when he talked to us about on the present Omnipotence.
And omniscient. Take some time.
And just meditate on God.
Take some time, and meditate on his attributes, meditate on a God that knows everything.
Meditate on a God who was always with you. Meditate on a God who is all proud.
Meditate on the fact that the God that created the world split the red.
See raised Jesus from the dead is the same God that we doubt.
Whenever our car breaks down.
Meditate on the objects of worship.
Point 3 thanksgiving in worship versus 51, through 53 he has done mighty deeds with his arm.
He is scattered. Those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He's brought down rulers from their thrones, and he, and has exalted those who were humble his filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich, empty-handed.
We move now, and we shift gears before we were worshipping God, for who he is, for what he is.
Omniscient. I'm the present, and now we're thanking him for what he does with those attributes, from who he is to what he has done and what He does for us.
His arm, his strength, and notice something very interesting.
These things she's thanking him for are not just for her, but she is thanking him for all the things he's done for Israel.
She's not just focusing on herself, you know. These got the Jews that were scattered around through the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians.
But she's thanking God that he is sustaining, that he is with them.
His powers there on their side.
Contrast this thought. But the others, who are only thinking about ourselves.
Mary adults in her salvation.
Mary's worship is not just focused on herself.
Mary's worship is like Psalm 107.
Verse 9, where he is satisfied, a thirsty soul in the hungry soul he is filled with what is good.
Another challenge.
Take a psalm like Psalm 107.
Another time you're doing devotions and thank them for everything he has done for you.
And if you sit back and you really meditate on it, you'll come up with a huge list.
Count your blessings, name them one by one, count. Your many blessings seem.
What God has done?
And finally.
Expectation in Worship versus 54, and 55, with Loop.
Chapter one. He has given help to Israel, his servants in remembrance of His mercy, and he has spoken to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.
He's taught. Is there something he's talking about here that she's talking about?
Mary is talking about the end. Times, expectation.
You know.
People are going around saying we are in the end times.
And or that the rapture is about to happen.
I sure hope so. You'll get no complaint from me.
If it happens. But I had a teacher, another teacher in Bible school.
This one was not called Doctor Doom. This one was called the Stone Killer.
Use another hard guy, Dr. Fuze was his name, used to say, a moody Bible Institute is one man against 1,300 students in the odds are even.
Use another one. You fought like crazy for a C minus.
He collected old books, and he had a book that one side of the page.
This is 300 pages, small. Print one side of the page was the headlines of the day, and the other side of the page was which verse in Scripture fulfills that headline, you know, this was in Ezekiel.
This was in Daniel, Isaiah, etc.
Some of the minor prophets. This is what you could compare, and the book named the Antichrist.
The book was written in 1803, in the Antider.
Christ was Napoleon Bonaparte, the point he was trying to make.
We can look at any time in history, and if we try hard enough, we can say that it fulfills versus in Scripture, and that they are in the end times.
He says, don't worry about it, but prophecy end.
Times can't be understood until we understand that God is going to fulfill his past promises.
That is why he's mentioning he has given help to his cert to Israel, his servant, in remembrance of His mercy.
And he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.
Prophecy is God for filling the promises to Abraham.
In Genesis, chapter 12.
Thy Kingdom come, we pray, even so come, Lord Jesus, you know something.
He's gonna come, whether I pray that or not.
He's gonna come, whether we say even so, come, Lord Jesus.
What are we doing with? We say that we pray Thy kingdom come when he's gonna come, no matter what I do, we are worshiping in prayer.
We are saying. We want him to come true. Worship wants him soon.
We meditate on the past.
So we can relish the future.
Another challenge.
Take a psalm like Psalm 10.
5, and remember and focus on his promises.
Focus on the fact that he will keep his promises.
And it will affect everything you do.
This morning we looked at the foundation of worship, the of worship.
Thanksgiving and worship, and next, a worship.
And one thing we should always remember, we can learn an awful lot about worship from a 13 year old girl.
Thank you. Brothers, sisters!
The White House.
Oh, worship the king being a.
Of, and gratefully.
Is love, our shield and defender, the ancient.
This pavilion is fine.
Prayer.
Hotel. Love is my no, see is free. Whose row? Who is?
Happy space, his chariots of wrath, the deep, thin.
And dark is his path.
So the story.
Thy bountiful care! Hear my tongue sight! It breathes in the air!
Good side.
Light its dreams from the hills, it descends to.
And sweetly distilled.
Real to in auto and fear.
In the first, the.
To fear Thy mercies, how far to?
Our Maker.
Cut.