A Sermon on Worship, 5/3/26

So the text today is from 2nd Chronicles, chapter

34. Thank you, Caleb, for reading this to us

earlier. So I hope you all were paying attention

to Caleb this morning. So I want to begin with

a simple but searching question. Why are you

here? Not just physically, but spiritually. Why

do you gather week after week with the people

of God? Is it habit? Is it duty? Is it an expectation?

Or is it because you have come to meet with the

living God? That is the question that matters

more than we often realize. Because worship is

not just a neutral activity. It is something

we shape according to our preferences. It is

not something we shape according to our preferences.

Worship is not ultimately what we like. It is

about what God requires. And that is where our

modern thinking often goes wrong. We live in

a time when worship is frequently evaluated like

anything else. Did I enjoy it? Did it move me?

Did it meet my needs? But the scripture asks

a very, very different question. Was it acceptable

to God? That is the question before us this morning

Because it is entirely possible Listen carefully

it is entirely possible for us to gather in the

name of God to sing the songs to pray the prayers

to hear the sermons and Yet for that worship

to be unacceptable in his sight The Bible gives

us sobering examples of this There were those

in the Old Testament who offered sacrifices God

did not command and they were judged. There were

those in the New Testament who got honored, who

honored God with their lips while their hearts

were far from him and their worship was rejected.

So we must ask ourselves, are we worshiping God

rightly? That is exactly the situation we find

in 2 Chronicles chapter 34. The people of God

2 Chronicles 34 · chapter mention

had not stopped being religious. They still had

forms of it. They still had traditions, but true

worship was lost. Idolatry had taken root. The

temple had been neglected. And the most striking

thing of all, the word of God itself had been

forgotten. Think about that. The people of God

without the word of God. And when the Word was

rediscovered in red, everything changed. Because

the Word of God talks much about worship, how

it exposes, how it convicts, how it corrects,

and how it restores. And that is what we see

in the life of King Josiah, a young man raised

in a corrupt generation, and yet by the grace

of God, he begins to seek the Lord. And as he

seeks God, he begins to tear down idols, to restore

temples, and to bring the people back to true

covenantal worship. Please don't take this passage

lightly. It is a call. It is a call for every

church in every age, including ours, to examine

how we worship. Not to ask what is popular or

what is convenient. or what is emotionally satisfying,

but what is faithful, what is true, and what

is pleasing to God. Because worship is central

to everything. It is not a side issue in a Christian

life. It is the very purpose for which we were

created. We were made to glorify God and to enjoy

Him forever. So let us ask God's blessing on

this time together as we pray. Lord, we thank

you for this day. Father, I pray for the blessing

of us meeting together as your covenant people.

Sanctify this time. Fix our hearts on your truth.

Lord, show us if our worship is true. Show us

where we have drifted and restore us. that we

may worship you rightly. In Jesus' name, amen.

So in 2 Chronicles 34, we begin to see the foundation

of all true worship, and it is this. This is

my first point. Worship begins with seeking God.

Look again at verse 3. For in the eighth year

of his reign, while he was still young, he began

to seek the God of his father David. Now remember

where we are in the story a nation is corrupt

Idolatry is everywhere true worship had been

lost and yet before any outward changes Before

the idols are torn down before the temple is

restored Something happens in the heart of this

young king He begins seeking God and that is

where it starts with a heart that turns towards

God And this connects directly what we have just

considered. Worship is not first about what we

do. It is about who we are seeking. Because you

can do all the right things outwardly and still

not have it be worshiped at all. You can gather

with God's people. You can sing the songs. You

can bow your heads in prayer. You can listen

to faithful preaching. And yet... truly never

seek him. And if you are not seeking him, you

are not worshiping him. But by the grace of God,

Josiah shows us something different. In the middle

of a culture that had abandoned God, he does

not drift deeper into it. He seeks the Lord.

The scripture says in Jeremiah, You will seek

me and find me when you search for me with all

of your heart. And that is the kind of seeking

we are talking about. A heart that desires God

himself. And this is where we must examine ourselves.

Because if we are honest, it is very easy for

worship to become routine. We show up. We go

through the order of service. We know when to

stand. when to sit, when to respond. But the

question is not whether you are present. The

question is whether you are seeking God. Did

you come here this morning to meet with Him?

Did you come hungry to hear His voice? Did you

come expecting that the Living God would address

you through His Word? Or did you come out of

habit, out of obligation, out of routine? Because

God is not interested in any of that. He calls

for your heart. You see, worship is relational.

It is not a performance we offer to impress God.

It is a drawing near to God who has called us

into covenant with Himself. We do not seek God

on our terms. We seek Him on His terms. He defines

how He is to be approached. He defines how He's

to be worshipped. But still, He calls us to seek

Him. And that is grace. That the Holy God would

invite sinners to come near. We must seek Him,

not just what He gives. Too often we come to

God wanting benefits. We want peace and comfort

in provisions. But worship calls us higher. It

calls us to want Him. Josiah did not begin with

blessings. He began with God. And that is why

everything else begins to change. Because true

reformation does not start with outward obedience.

It starts in here. In the heart that turns and

says, I will seek the Lord. Because there is

the truth that this passage confronts us with.

You cannot worship God rightly if you are not

seeking Him earnestly. If true worship begins

with seeking God, then the next thing we see

in this passage follows. Because seeking God

will always lead to this. This is point two.

True worship requires the destruction of idols.

After Josiah began to seek the Lord, what does

he do? He does not remain passive. He does not

simply add worship Add worship of God into an

already crowded life No, he begins to tear things

down The high places were destroyed the wooden

images are cut down the carved and molded images

are broken into pieces All the altars of false

God are demolished Josiah does not make room

for God alongside idols He removes them entirely

You cannot truly seek God while holding on to

what competes with God Because God does not share

his glory The first commandment is clear. You

shall have no other gods before me Not alongside

me not in addition to me, but before me meaning

in my presence God demands exclusive worship

Because while we may not bow down to carved images

of wood or stone We are still very capable of

worshipping idols Our idols just look different

They are often more subtool more socially acceptable,

but no less real An idol is anything that takes

the place of God in your heart Anything more

you anything you love more anything you trust

more anything you fear losing more than God.

There are many things that can rise to that level.

Comfort, money, success, sexual sin, entertainment,

reputation, even family, when it is elevated

above God. And here's the danger. You can attend

worship on Sunday and still serve idols the rest

of the week. You can sing to God with your lips

while your heart is still controlled by something

entirely different. But the scripture is clear.

No one can serve two masters. You are either

cling to God or you are cling to your idols.

You cannot do both. This is why Josiah's example

is so important to us. Because he begins to seek

God and he does not negotiate with his idols.

He destroys them completely, decisively, without

compromise. And this is where true worship becomes

costly. Because it is one thing to say, I want

God. But it is another thing to remove everything

that competes with Him. But that is exactly what

God requires. He does not call you to manage

your idols. He calls you to put them to death.

What are the idols in your life? What do you

run to for comfort? What occupies your thoughts

when your mind is at rest? Because whatever controls

your heart that is what you worship and If we

would worship God rightly those things must be

dealt with Not ignored but torn down and yes,

it could be painful Because idols often promise

us temporary happiness But in the end they enslave

God only satisfied God only God is worthy and

here's the good news God does not command you

to tear down your idols so that you are left

with nothing He calls you to tear them down so

that you may have him and he is better infinitely

better as You consider your own heart this morning

Do not stop seeking God. Let that seeking lead

to action. Let it expose what must be removed.

You cannot worship God rightly and cling to idols.

May God give us the grace not only to seek Him,

but to forsake everything that stands in His

way. If we are to seek God truly, if we are to

tear down the idols that compete for our hearts,

then the next question naturally flows. How do

we now worship Him rightly? Because it is not

enough to remove what is false. We also must

establish what is true. And this brings us to

our third point. True worship must be governed

by the Word of God. Look at what happens in our

next passages beginning in verse 14. Now when

they had brought the money out that was brought

into the house of the Lord Hilkiah the priest

found the book of the law of the Lord given by

Moses The book of the law the word of God had

been lost Not misplaced for a moment, but neglected

ignored and forgotten over time The people of

God had continued on with forms of religion with

outward practices But without the word of God

shaping and directing their worship. Worship

had become corrupt, distorted, and unfaithful.

Because when the word of God is absent, true

worship does not remain. It cannot. And when

we see the book is finally found and read, listen

to Josiah's response in verse 19. And when the

king heard the word of the law, he tore his clothes.

Why is it a strong reaction? Because in that

moment Josiah realizes something terrifying That

he had not been worshiping God according to his

word They had not been doing what seemed right.

They have been doing what seemed right in their

own eyes and beloved This is always the danger

Because we live in a time where worship is often

shaped by preferences by creativity or emotion

or by what seems meaningful to us But the scripture

does not leave worship to our imagination God

himself tells us how he's to be worshiped and

this is what we hold to as the regulative principle

of worship That we are to worship God not only

We are to worship God only in the ways that he

has commanded his people through his word Not

adding to it not subtracting from it not improving

upon it Because God is holy and he cares deeply

about how he is approached. We see this throughout

scripture. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire

before the Lord, something he had not commanded

and they were judged. Uzziah reached his hand

to study the ark and he was struck down. These

are no small matters. They teach us that sincerity

is not enough. Good intentions are not enough.

Worship must be according to God's revealed will.

Jesus says himself, the true worshipers will

worship the Father in spirit and truth. Truth

matters. God is not honored by what he has not

commanded. So how do we elevate worship? Not

by asking did I enjoy it. Not by asking did it

move me. But by asking. Is it faithful to the

Word of God? Is scriptural central? Is this reading

of the Word? Is the reading of the Word present?

Is the preaching of the Word clear and authoritative?

Are we praying according to the Word? Are we

singing truth that reflects the Word? Because

when the Word of God governs worship, He speaks

and His people respond. But when the word is

absent or minimized worship becomes man -centered

and that is not worship at all Here is what the

passage is showing us the rediscovery of the

word leads to the restoration of worship and

The neglect of the word leads to its corruption

There's no middle ground So if we would worship

God rightly we must submit ourselves fully to

his word Not just in part, or when it's convenient,

but completely. If worship must be governed by

the Word of God, then we must also see what happens

when that word truly takes hold of us. Because

the Word of God never leaves a person unchanged.

It does not simply inform, it confronts. It does

not merely instruct, it exposes. And that leads

us to our fourth point today. True worship produces

repentance. Look again at Josiah's response in

verse 19. This is no small reaction. This is

deep, visible, undeniable conviction. Why? Because

when Josiah hears the word of God, he sees clearly,

for the first time, the gap of who God is and

how they had been living had been exposed. He

sees God's holiness. He sees God's law. And in

light of that, he sees his own sin and the sin

of the nation. And he does not excuse it. He

repents. This is always the effect of true worship.

When God and His Word is revealed rightly, sin

is exposed. And when sin is exposed, the only

right response is repentance. But this is where

our modern approach to worship often goes wrong.

Because many want to worship that confronts but

it does not convict. They want to feel encouraged

but they do not want to deal with their sin.

But that is not biblical worship, because you

cannot truly encounter a holy God without becoming

aware of your sin. The prophet Isaiah understood

this. When he saw the Lord high and lifted up,

he did not celebrate himself. He cried out, Woe

is me, for I am undone. For my eyes have seen

the King, the Lord of hosts. That is the language

of repentance and that is the necessary pathway

to true worship Because repentance is most definitely

part of true worship It is how we come honestly

before God We do not come pretending or hiding

or justifying ourselves, but confessing turning

humbling humbly acknowledging our need for mercy

if our worship never leads to repentance. Something

is wrong. Either we are not seeking God rightly,

or we are not listening to His Word carefully,

or we are hardening our hearts. Because the Word

of God is described as a sword. It pierces. It

discerns. It reveals what is really within us.

When you come to worship, are you willing to

be confronted? Are you willing for God's Word

to search your hearts? Josiah tore his clothes,

but he did not despair. Because the same God

who revealed sin is the same God who shows mercy.

Not just to conviction, but to Christ. To forgiveness,

to cleansing, to restoration. So do not fear

repentance. Do not resist it. Embrace it. Because

it is evidence that God is at work in your heart.

It is evidence that your worship is real. If

there is no repentance, there is no true worship.

May God give us soft hearts, hearts that hear

His word, hearts that are quick to repent, hearts

that cling to His mercy in Christ. If true worship

produces repentance, then we must now ask, what

does restored worship actually look like among

the people of God? Where does repentance lead?

Praise God, it does not end in sorrow or isolation.

It brings us back into right relationship with

God. And that brings us to our fifth point. Look

at verse 29 through 33. After Josiah hears the

word, after he humbles himself, after he repents,

repentance takes place. What does He do? He gathers

the people, all of them, great and small, and

He reads them the Word of God. And when He makes

a covenant before God to walk after Him, to keep

His commandments, and to follow Him with all

His heart and all His soul. And the people join

with Him in this covenant. This is corporate

covenantal worship. The people of God gathered

together renewing their commitment to the God

who has bound himself to them. This is what worship

is. It is a covenant meeting between God and

his people. And this pattern runs throughout

all scripture. God calls his people to himself.

They respond. He speaks his word. They confess

their sin. He assures them of His mercy. He feeds

us, and then He sends them out with His blessing.

This is how God relates to His people. And this

is exactly what we participate in every Lord's

Day. When we gather for worship, we are not just

attending worship. We are entering into a covenant

renewal ceremony. The living God meets with His

people. He calls us into His presence. He confronts

us through His Word. He cleanses us through Christ.

He nourishes us by His grace. And He sends us

out to live for His glory. This is why worship

matters so deeply. Because this is where our

relationship with God is renewed and strengthened

week after week. And yet, how easy it is to lose

sight of this. to think worship as routine, as

something ordinary, as just another part of the

week. But there is nothing ordinary about meeting

with the living God. The scripture tells us in

Hebrews that when we gather, we come to Mount

Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable

accompany of angels, to Jesus, the mediator of

the new covenant. That is what is happening in

worship. God meets with his people. This is how

you view worship. Do you come with reverence?

Do we come with expectation? Do you come aware

that you are entering into the presence of the

Holy God? Or has it become familiar or casual

or routine? Because if we lose the covenant nature

of worship, we will inevitably lose the seriousness

and the joy of it. We will treat lightly what

God has sacred. But when we understand what is

happening, that this is a covenant renewal between

God and his people, everything changes. We listen

more carefully. We confess more sincerely. And

we sing more wholeheartedly. We receive more

gratefully. This is not about us reaching up

to God. This is about God coming down to meet

with us and that again is grace So beloved do

not think of worship as something small. Do not

think of it as optional or routine This is the

central act of the Christian life Where God renews

his covenant with his people week after week

Lord's Day after Lord's Day until that final

day when faith becomes sight. So here is the

fifth point. Excuse me. So here is the truth

we must hold fast. Worship is not casual gathering.

It is covenant renewal with the living God. May

he give us hearts that understands it, that treasures

it, and that enters into it with reverence and

joy. If worship is covenant renewal, If it is

truly a meeting between God and His people, then

we must ask one final and essential question.

How can sinful people come into the presence

of a holy God? How can worship be acceptable

at all? Because we have not sought God as we

ought. We have loved idols. We have neglected

His word. We have not repented as we should.

So how can our worship possibly be pleasing to

Him? And that brings us to our fifth and final

point. True worship is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

You see, everything we have seen in Josiah's

life, as important and as powerful as it was,

was not the final answer. Because the real problem

was not just about broken worship. It was about

the condition of our sinful heart. And no king,

not even a faithful king like Josiah, could fix

that. But God in His mercy provided what we could

not. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. And Christ

is the center, the substance, and the fulfillment

of all true worship. Well, Josiah was where he

restored the temple. Christ is the true temple.

He said, destroy this temple and I will rebuild

it in three days. Where sacrifices were offered

again and again, Christ is the final sacrifice,

offered once and for all, securing eternal redemption

for His people. Where priests stood as mediators,

Christ is our great High Priest, who forever

lives to intercede for us. Everything that worship

points to finds its fulfillment in Him. And that

changes everything because now we do not come

before God based on our performance. We do not

come hoping that our worship is good enough.

We come through Christ and only through Christ.

The scripture says we are to offer up spiritual

sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

This means that even our best worship, our most

sincere prayers, our most heartfelt songs are

not acceptable on their own. They are stained

with sin and they fall short. But when they are

offered through Christ, they are received, not

because they are perfect, but because He is.

And this is our hope and our confidence, that

our worship is accepted, not based on the basis

of our worthiness, but on the basis of His righteousness.

And this also defines the kind of worship God

seeks. God says the hour is coming and is here

now when the true worshipers will worship the

Father in spirit and truth. In spirit, meaning

a heart made alive by the Holy Spirit. In truth,

meaning according to the revealed will of God

and centered on Christ. And only Christ makes

that possible. Apart from Christ, our worship

is empty. But in Christ, Our worship is accepted.

So do not come to God this morning thinking you

must earn His favor. Come through Christ. Do

not come trusting in what you bring. Come trusting

in what He has already accomplished. And when

you do that, you are free. You are free to confess

your sin honestly, free to lift your voices and

praise. free to draw near with confidence because

Christ has opened the way. He is not only the

object of our worship. He is the reason our worship

is received. So here's the truth that anchors

everything we have said. Our worship is acceptable

to God, not because it is perfect, but because

Christ is perfect. May we come then, not trusting

in ourselves, but in Him. Not resting in our

efforts, but in the finished work, but in His

finished work. And may all our worship, now and

forever, be through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Let's pray together. Almighty and most holy God,

you alone are worthy. of all worship, honor,

and praise. We confess that we have not worshiped

you as we ought. Our hearts have wondered. Our

affections have been divided. We have often gone

through the motions while neglecting true devotion.

Forgive us, we pray. Cleanse us from our sin

through Jesus Christ. Renew our hearts by your

Spirit. Teach us to seek you earnestly, to love

you fully. and to worship you rightly. Father,

tear down every idol within us. Give us a deeper

hunger for your word. Grant us repentance that

is sincere and lasting, and cause our worship

to be pleasing in your sight. Not because of

our worthiness, but because of Christ. Strengthen

us as your people. Unite us in truth, and send

us out from this place with renewed hearts, to

live for your glory in all things. We ask this,

all in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. We now

lift the prayer up for the men of the congregation

to pray.