THE PURPOSE OF WORSHIP
Summer Sermon Series: Growing in Worship
Rev. Kevin L. Baker
William Barclay quotes William Temple, the renowned archbishop of Canterbury, as defining worship as quickening the conscience by the holiness of God, feeding the mind with the truth of God, purging the imagination by the beauty of God, opening the heart to the love of God, and devoting the will to the purpose of God.
· Today, as we continue in our summer series on worship, it is the purpose of God in worship that we devote ourselves to this Lord’s Day.
· Last week as we learned about the language of worship we began to learn what worship is. Today, let’s talk about why we do what we are doing today—why do we need to praise and worship God?
· Let's look briefly at five reasons we need to do so.
First, God commanded it.
· This should be an obvious reason. As we learned last week, God desires people who will praise and worship Him. So, one motivation for true praise and worship is that we want to be obedient to God.
Exodus 20: 8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
· Today, some people have an issue with going to church. They say they can make their own Church—that is false because Jesus said “I will build my church.”
· Second, they say there is no Sabbath day for Christians—either I hear “that is Old Testament” or I hear people say that as long as I take a day of rest whether it is Tuesday, Friday or whenever, that is a Sabbath.
· First of all, the moral imperative of Sabbath keeping is a moral law of God. Moral law is based on the unchanging character of God. Since God’s character is unchanging, laws deal with morality and ethics are unchanging. It is just as wrong to commit adultery, steal, worship idols, or covet today as it was in 1450BC when God spoke the 10 commandments to his people.
· The real conscientious objector to Church worship then makes the argument, “but if something has been modified by the New Testament, the NT takes priority over the OT. Let’s see then, what the NT says about Sabbath:
Passage Hebrews 10:25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another (to keep meeting together)—and all the more as you see the Day approaching (the day of God’s vengeance poured out on Jerusalem in AD 70).
· It is very clear that in this Book of Hebrews, whose main purpose is to show us how the New Covenant in Christ has transformed the Old Covenant into a better covenant, shows how the Sabbath rest has reached its zenith in the salvation of Jesus Christ.
· Sabbath has not been done away with, it has been brought to its completeness and we are told by the author of Hebrews to make sure we enter that place of Sabbath rest.
· As far as those who think all Sabbath is an individual day of physical rest, the passage I just read in Hebrews 4 makes it clear that is not the case—it is spiritual rest in worship with God’s people.
· When God instituted the Sabbath, he addressed the Ten Commandments to all his people at once, commanding them to come together into his presence. Christianity is a faith of covenant between God and his people, not God and individuals only.
· This is the horizontal aspect of worship. As we pray, sing, read, listen, respond, and eat together a unity of mind, purpose, and heart begins to form in us. Worship unites what sin divides. Worship is the context for living out our faith-learning to love and serve others.
· Why do we need to praise and worship God?
Second, God is worthy of it.
· In Revelation 4:11 we read, "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."
· God is worthy of our praise because He is our Creator and our Lord.
· Throughout the book of Revelation we catch a glimpse of heavenly worship. John's vision transports us into heaven itself and there we see that a chief activity is praise.
· Consider Revelation 5:11-12, "And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.'"
· Again in Revelation 7:11-12 we read, "And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, 'Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.'"
· We had better get used to praise and worship on this earth because that is what we will be doing in heaven. We should do it here because our God is worthy of our praise!
· What happens in heaven is a model for worship on earth. Why do we need to praise and worship God?
Third, worship helps us better realize the manifest presence Of God.
· While God is present in all places at all times, he manifests his presence to us in different ways at different places and times.
· In Exodus 33:15-23, Moses was talking to God about the need for God’s presence to be with them in some manifest way as they entered the promised land.
· What Moses said here is true for the Church as well-- 6 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
· What makes us different than a meeting of the Rotary Club, or some other social organization? It is not because we are happy or have good fellowship—others have that!
· It is the manifest presence of God in our midst that makes us different from all other people. The presence of God in our midst is what makes us different!
· Praise and worship is the path leading to God’s presence. We are told in Psalm 100:4 to, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise."
· As we praise and worship God, we shift our focus from ourselves and our situation to Him. This makes us aware of His presence. This brings us into communion with Him.
· We become aware of His glory and greatness, of His majesty and power. We turn our attention from lesser things and focus on that which is the ultimate, our Lord and God.
· Praise and worship transports us into the very presence of the living God. It places us in a position where we can hear from Him and receive His ministry.
· We call this the vertical dimension of worship—loving the Lord with all our heart.
Fourth, worship gives us His perspective on our situation.
· Because we are transported, as it were, into His presence, we now behold His greatness and become aware of His ability to deal with our situation.
· You see, when we had our eyes on our situation or problem, our situation or problem looked pretty large.
· When we shift our attention, however, from our situation or problem to the God who made this universe, then our situation or problem is seen in proper perspective.
· While it looked big to us while we were focusing only on it, when we began to behold the glory, majesty, might and power of God, suddenly the problem didn't look as big anymore.
· Looking at the problem in light of the majesty and ability of God makes the problem look solvable. Praise and worship gives us God's perspective on our situation, which is what we all need.
Fifth, praise and worship is the atmosphere where the gifts of the Spirit and spiritual ministries.
· All the teaching of St. Paul in 1 Cor. 12-14 is addressed to the Church when they come together to worship.
· Have you ever wondered why it seems that the deeper we progress each week in worship, and the more we enter into the presence of God that it seems the presence of God becomes more and more glorious and then suddenly gifts of the Spirit begin manifesting?
· Many times, we come in from six days of labor in the world and some have not prayed, some have not read the Bible, some are depressed, angry, hurting, guilty of sin…
· Ps. 3:3 says God is the glory and lifter of our heads because our heads often hang low—ye to gaze upon God in the heavens our faces cannot look down to the earth for help, or within our selves, they look up to the throne of God in our midst!
· As we enter worship acclaiming God’s greatness, are reminded of the Great Commandment to love God and our neighbor, then confess our sins of not doing so, then we begin to make progress in entering the presence of God where our lives begin to receive the spiritual food and drink that gives us the strength to keep fighting the good fight of faith.
Fifth and finally, it changes us.
· Praise and worship changes our attitudes and thinking. It is impossible to become one who truly praises and worships God and still be sour and cynical.
· Praise and worship will transform our very character. It will make us people of hope, people of faith.
· Through praise and worship, God will do a mighty work in us. That alone is sufficient reason to become one who places great emphasis on praise and worship.
· You and I have been called to lift up our voices in praise and worship. We are New Testament priests, commanded to offer up the sacrifice of praise to God continually.
· Sometimes it is more of a sacrifice than at other times. But at all times we ought to be people of praise, because our God is worthy of our praise, and because we receive so much through praise. Make it your priority.
At a conference of a Presbyterian church in Omaha. People were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren't free to say "Hallelujah, or Praise the Lord freely at any time." S, all through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased. That is what worship looks like sometimes, so beginning right now, as we learn to worship together, my prayer for you is that God will help you let your balloon go.