CCA’s Vision: Worship — Sermon by the Very Rev. Dr. Craig Stephans

Let us pray. And Father, I pray that in

your grace, you give us each faith

today.

Faith to know you by your Holy Spirit

and wisdom and revelation.

And God, I pray that by your Holy

Spirit, you would preach the gospel

through me and apply it to all of our

hearts, God, with boldness, with power

and conviction, and transform us into

the image of Christ for his glory and

for his sake, in whose name we pray.

Amen.

>> Amen.

>> Please be seated.

There is a a church in the world. It's

based in Nigeria. It's called the

Reformed Christian Church of God. And I

just learned about it recently.

It has 51,000 congregations around the

world. In fact, one here in Savannah.

And a group of us were having coffee

with Tommy Zitto, the evangelist, who is

here in October. And he was sharing with

us about their annual conference that

occurs in Logos, Nigeria. And it takes

place in a place called Redemption City,

which is a whole development the church

has constructed there to gather. And

they have a building there that seats

between five and six million people. And

they had between five and six million

people worshiping and gathering there

for a week. If you're like me, that

blows your mind and you think there's no

way. The building is a 1.8 miles long

and about a mile wide. And I saw

pictures and videos of this worship

event.

worshiping the Lord, preaching the

gospel, hearing testimonies of Jesus,

offering prayers to God. And it is

amazing to think about that. Five to six

million people plus others in an

additional site and millions others

doing it live stream around the world

worshiping the Lord. We don't hear about

that sort of thing in our daily news and

on social media too much, but imagine

the impact that that has spiritually in

the world and in the kingdom of heaven

and the battle between it and the

kingdom of darkness.

Five to six million people worshiping

the Lord for a week. One night they had

a a Nigerian worship leader who sounds

like everyone in Nigeria would

recognize, none of us would. He began

leading in worship at midnight and he

led in worship until 4:00 a.m. Most of

the people left. There were only about

200,000 during those four hours.

When Isaiah sees this vision of God or

I'm sorry, yeah, when Isaiah sees the

vision of God in chapter 6 verse one

that was read, it says that when God

spoke, the foundations of the threshold

shook.

When we worship God and God, the Bible

says, inhabits or is enthroned upon the

praises of his people, imagine the

shaking that occurs, the light that

shines over and against the darkness.

And it's not just because in this one

case there's 6 million people. It's

because there are those who are

worshiping the Lord and the light is

shining. Whether it is a gathering like

this, a gathering like complin or even

song or where two or three are gathered

and are worshiping the Lord, God is

present and he's impacting the world for

the kingdom of heaven. That's why

worship is and must continue to be an

emphasized pillar of our vision as a

church. Christ Church Anglican, our

vision says, seeks to be a gospel-

centered congregation in the Anglican

tradition where worship is central,

catechizus is pervasive, life together

is nurtured and mission extended from

Thomas Square where we are to the city

of Savannah, the dasis in the world,

wherever God may call us. Our

congregation is and must continue to be

committed to worship, a gospel-oriented

and Christc centered worship both for

mature believers and the unchurched

inquir and yet unbeliever. And as a

church, we are called to worship in the

Anglican tradition, not because it's the

only way. It's the way that God has

called us. And we think it's a good way.

One of the scriptures I think that sums

up the approach to worship for the

Christian is from Paul's letter to

Romans in chapter 12 beginning in verse

1. Paul writes to the believers, "I

appeal to you therefore, brothers and

sisters, by the mercies of God to

present your bodies as a living

sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,

which is your spiritual or your

reasonable worship. Do not be conformed

to this world, but be transformed by the

renewal of your mind. That by testing

you may discern what is the will of God,

what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul is calling us to offer ourselves as

living sacrifices in worship to God. And

it must be offering our bodies because

we can't worship apart from our bodies.

We worship in body, soul, and spirit all

together and at once.

And he encourages us not to be conformed

to the world but to be transformed to

understand God's will. Because to

worship the Lord God Almighty is an

affront to the world. It is a denial of

the world's powers and systems and all

that attracts our attention that is in

the world apart from Christ. To worship

the Lord God Almighty is to deny our own

self-centeredness

and it is to deny our sinful nature and

its indulgences. So we must offer

ourselves in surrender and as a living

sacrifice to God to worship him fully in

conformity with his will, not in

conformity with the world.

As we read scripture, uh because we have

the chapters and the verses, it's

natural for us to typically end a

chapter and maybe we'll start the next

chapter in the next day or we we intuit

it an ending to the thoughts and then a

new beginning.

But the Bible wasn't written like that

with chapters and verses. They were just

written as a letter or as a scroll or as

a prophetic vision. And Romans is like

that. It was written as one continual

letter. A and so preceding Ro Romans

Romans 12:1

12:1 that I read is this statement that

I think it is the foundation of why Paul

exhorts us to offer ourselves as living

sacrifices to God. Romans 11:36 he

Romans 11:36

writes, "For from him and through him

and to him are all things. To him be

glory forever. Amen."

We worship God and we offer ourselves to

him in worship and we do not allow

ourselves to be conformed to this world

but to be transformed by renewing our

minds according to his will because all

things come from God. All things come to

us through God. All things will return

to God. In one sense, God is all that

matters to us because he is the source

of all life. He is the one who sustains

all life. He is the one that will hold

every single eternity in his hand. He is

the one that matters. So we offer

ourselves to him. Th this is a a theme

that is repeated throughout scripture in

the the vision that was read from

Revelation. Um Ed read chapter 5 which

is a continuation of chapter 4 where

John sees a vision of the throne room of

heaven with God seated upon the throne

with four living creatures around him

with 24 elders around them and then

ultimately with myriads and myriads

thousands upon thousands of angels

around the elders and then eventually

all living creatures.

It is a vision of the worship and the

glory of heaven. And in chapter 4

beginning in verse 9, Paul writes this

about that vision. I mean, John writes

this about the vision. He says,

"Whenever the living creatures give

glory and honor and thanks to him who is

seated on the throne who lives forever

and ever. The 24 elders fall down before

him who is seated on the throne and

worship him who lives forever. They cast

their crowns before the throne, saying,

"Worthy are you, O Lord, our Lord and

God, to receive glory and honor and

power, for you created all things, and

by your will they existed and were

created." This is a truth of scripture.

This is a truth of God. And it is a

truth that ought to inspire our worship

of him because it's our worship is an

acknowledgment that yes, God, we

believe, we acknowledge that all things

came from you. You sustain all things.

All things are returning to you. So you

are worthy of all of our praise, our

honor, and our glory. Because when we

separate ourselves from God, when we

allow anything to come between us and

God, we are allowing something to come

between the one who gives us life.

But when we worship him, we are coming

before the one who gives us life, even

breath. That vision continues in chapter

5 which was read and in beginning in

verse 11 of chapter 5, John looks and it

says,"I heard around the throne the

living creatures and the elders the

voice of many angels numbering myriads

of myriads and thousands of thousands."

Essentially, he's saying too many to

count. as many as you can imagine,

saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the

Lamb who was slain to receive power and

wealth and wisdom and might and honor,

glory and blessing." And I heard every

creature in heaven and on earth and

under the earth and in the sea and all

that is in them, saying, "To him who

sits on the throne and to the Lamb be

blessing and honor and glory and might

forever and ever." And the four living

creatures said, "Amen." and the elders

fell down and worshiped. And this is a

glorious vision of the kingdom of

heaven, the throne of God and our and it

is an invitation to all of us to join in

that worship in the in that new creation

that is facilitated by the redemption of

the lamb who was slain. At the beginning

of that vision, John sees the elders and

they have harps and they have bowls of

incense. He says, "And the incense flows

up before the throne of God along with

the prayers of God's people." That is

our participation in the worship that is

occurring in heaven right now. As we

worship the Lord, as we offer prayers

and praises, they ascend to the throne

of God. Even in the midst of the living

creatures, the elders, and all the

angels in heaven, our prayers ascend.

And Revelation 7 shows us that one day

we will be there in person before Jesus

worshiping

our worship of God is our response and I

would say our responsibility

to the prayer that Jesus taught us. Our

father in heaven,

your kingdom come, your will be done on

earth as it is in heaven. As we worship,

a as we develop a vision and an

understanding of the kingdom of God and

the throne of God and as we worship

according to that, we are facilitating

his kingdom and his will being done on

earth through worship and through

prayer.

God gave to Isaiah this wonderful vision

of heaven as well in chapter 6 verse 1

when he says that in the year that King

Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon

the throne high and lifted up and the

train of his robe filled the temple

above him stood the saraphim that are

angels each had six wings and with two

he covered his face and with two he

covered his feet and with two he flew

and with one one called to one another

and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord

of hosts. The whole earth is full of his

glory."

The whole earth is full of God's glory.

And the whole earth is going to be

filled with the knowledge of that glory

through Christ as the waters cover the

sea is the promise of scripture. Our

participation in worship as individuals,

as families, as small groups, as a

congregation

is participating in that glory of God

that is filling the earth.

God's kingdom is here. The kingdom that

John saw in his vision is here.

It's not yet fulfilled, but that day is

coming. And our worship participates in

the fullness of his kingdom. And that's

why it's part of our vision, not only as

a church, but must be a part of our

vision as a Christian life. And what

Isaiah is showing us is that our God is

not a boring God. And that to worship

the Lord in spirit and truth is not a

boring endeavor,

a box that must be checked. when he sees

the worship of God. When he hears the

chorus, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,

the whole earth is full of his glory.

And he feels that temple of his vision

shaking.

His response is, "Woe is me, for I am

lost, for I am a man of unclean lips. I

dwell in the midst of a people of

unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the

King, the Lord of hosts." The delusions

of his life are wiped away by the

reality of God's presence, his holiness,

and his glory. And thanks be to God that

he is merciful and gracious. That in in

the presence of his glory,

he offers us redemption and forgiveness

of sins. For Isaiah, Christ had not yet

come, but there was an altar there. And

the angel takes the coal from the altar

and touches his lips and says, "You are

made clean." For us, we are cleansed by

the blood of Jesus and able to come

before this throne of holiness in the

holiness and righteousness of Christ.

Part of our worship as a church is to

bring the reality of God's holiness and

glory into this world, into our lives,

into this community, so that others will

be confronted with the reality of God's

presence, his sovereignty, and they will

be awakened out of their delusions,

out of their apathy,

and they will come to this place that

Isaiah came to of

a self-examination saying, "Woe is me

before a holy God. I am unclean." And

they will receive the forgiveness that

comes only through Jesus and become part

of God's family and welcomed into his

presence.

This is what God desires.

And we as a church are invited to be a

part of that.

When Jesus in John chapter 4 is sitting

John 4 · chapter mention

beside the well in Samaria, he has a

wonderful loving conversation with a

Samaritan woman. And I love how

compassion and gentle yet also uh

truthful and honest he is with her. And

and she responds to that by being

truthful and honest with him. And

they're discussing worship. They're even

discussing the Messiah. And she's

telling him how it is from her

perspective as a Samaritan.

And Jesus says this in John 4:23 says,

John 4:23

"The hour is coming and is now here when

the true worshippers will worship the

Father in spirit and truth. For the

Father is seeking such people to worship

him." How wonderful is this? This is a

revelation from Jesus of God's heart,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Spirit. Not seeking to push people away,

not seeking to condemn people or punish

people.

Not seeking to make everyone all the

same,

but seeking people who will worship him

in spirit and truth. Seeking those who

will come not through artificial or

religious means, but through the means

of Jesus Christ.

Not coming to worship a God of their own

delusion or making, but a God who is the

one true God. and not worshiping in a

way that makes them like everybody else.

God has all called us to worship him in

Christ as the person that he created us

to be in his image and likeness.

That's to worship in spirit and truth.

To worship as the person God made you to

be. Worshiping the God as he is. This is

what God desires. If we as a church came

together and we said, "Let's be the kind

of church that God desires, that he

wants us to be."

Those who started this church discern

that we were called to be an Anglican

church, to worship in the Anglican

tradition. But we could also know that

what God wants us to be is a church that

worships.

And there's various ways to worship, but

that's what God desires of us

individually, small groups, as a

congregation.

The Psalm 100, which is part of our

morning prayer service and liturgy.

The psalmist says, "Oh, be joyful in the

Lord, all you lands. Serve the Lord with

gladness and come before his presence

with a song. Be assured that the Lord,

he is God. It is he that has made us and

not we ourselves. We are his people and

the sheep of his pasture. Oh, go your

way into his gates with thanksgiving and

into his courts with praise. Be thankful

unto him and speak good of his name. For

the Lord is gracious, his mercy is

everlasting, and his truth endures from

generation to generation. The psalmist

isn't exhorting this worship because

it's a rule and it's a mandate and you

got to do it. It is a revelation and an

expression of God's heart for us. It

It's the same expression that Jesus

shared in our gospel lesson in Luke 17:1

Luke 17:1

when the 10 lepers called out to him.

And Jesus being so good in his mercy and

grace recognizes their suffering, their

ostracism, and in this case, he heals

all of them as they are obedient in

faith to go show themselves to the

priest. But did Jesus didn't come to

just heal people and send them on their

way? So the one leper, the Samaritan,

when he comes back, he

saw that he was healed and he praised

God with a loud voice falling on his

face at Jesus's feet, giving him thanks,

worshiping him.

We see Jesus's heart. On one hand, he

delights in this person who comes back

to worship him, who comes back

recognizing that the one who healed him

is also the savior, the Lord. And Jesus

delights in him, but we also recognize

Jesus's longing. Were not all 10

cleansed? Where are the other nine?

Where are those going their own way,

missing out on this opportunity to come

and worship the Lord?

It is Jesus wooing us with his love and

his compassion

and his desire for us to come and

receive the goodness from his hands

and also worship him and stay in his

presence.

The psalmist in Psalm 90:14,

Psalms 90:14

he cries out to God and he says,

"Satisfy in the morning with satisfy us

in the morning with your unfailing love

that we may sing for joy and be glad all

our days." As we worship the Lord, what

we are doing is placing ourselves in the

presence of unfailing love,

of unconditional love, which we can't

get from anywhere else in this world,

less it comes from the lover of our

souls, Jesus.

Our worship of God places us before him

who loves us unconditionally and

unfailingly.

In in fact the psalmist in Psalm 48:9

Psalms 48:9

even describes worship it like this. He

says, "Within your temple, oh God, we

meditate on your unfailing love."

This is the benefit that we get from

worship.

The more we worship, the more we

experience that unfailing love of God.

And the more we worship, the more that

love comes and immerses us and comes

among us and flows out of us, not only

for our sake, but for the sake of those

around us.

When we have worship services here, the

world's going on all around us. And it

can seem like nothing else is happening.

But I think the scriptures assure us

that as we worship the Lord, the Lord is

here. And where the Lord is present, he

is fulfilling his purposes and his will.

And his light is shining over and

against the darkness outside of these

walls. And it is making an impact all

around us, not only in our lives.

And our worship, and this is important

for us as a church and as individuals to

understand, our worship is not dependent

on how life is going.

There is an assurance in this world that

we will go through trials and

tribulations that we will have

suffering.

Our worship doesn't depend on whether

we're in those times or in happy times.

What the Bible exhorts us is to worship

the Lord and ascribe to him the glory.

Do his name because he is Lord, because

he is sovereign, because he is perfect

in glory and splendor.

There's an exhortation of this in the

prophetic book of Habach. It's in the

Old Testament. It's three chapters. It's

a wonderful book. And the prophet is

exhorting the people to worship, to

repent, to return to God.

And he ends the book like this in what I

think is an odd way to end such an

exhortational book.

He says, "Though the fig tree should not

blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines, the

produce of the olive fail and the fields

yield no food, the flock be cut off from

the fold, and there be no herd in the

stalls.

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will

take joy in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord is my strength. He makes

my feet like the deers. He makes me

tread on the high places.

Even as things are going terribly, he is

saying, "I will rejoice in my God. I

will take joy in my God and in his

salvation. And in the midst of these

times, as I worship him, he will

strengthen me. He will raise me up. He

will lead me and guide me through the

trials, through the suffering to that

place that he has prepared for me."

There's an interesting note in the text

as that book of Habach ends and it is a

part of the scripture. It says to the

choir master with stringed instruments

in the midst of the sorrows and

suffering. This is to be sung in worship

to the Lord. An acknowledgement that God

you are greater than any of my

circumstances or what I may be going

through.

Uh Psalm 16 which we we talked about in

Sunday school today talks about that in

his presence there are fullness there is

fullness of joy and pleasures forever

more. Our worship of God also does

recognize that that is where we are

going in a place that is a paradise that

God has prepared for us because he's

overcome death and the grave.

God promises us in Isaiah 577:15

that while he is high and lifted up and

we worship him in his glory and

transcendence, he promises us that he

also is with those who are contrite and

lowly in spirit to revive the spirit of

the lowly and to revive the heart of the

contrite. There is a movement of God

when we worship that gives us life, that

revives us, that refreshes and

re-energizes us with his supernatural

presence and power and light. And this

is what shakes the foundations of even

this world when we worship him is

because he comes in power and might to

bring revival.

revival for us, revival for those around

us, which is what God desires,

the revival of people who are dead

through worship.

So, I want to close w with an

encouragement. And we've been reading

through the nativity stories of Jesus

during this time in Christmas. And while

I was reading in Luke chapter 2, I

Luke 2 · chapter mention

think, you know, the Lord put it on my

heart how it relates to worship. And

this is the story of when Jesus is a

little baby and his parents bring him

into the temple to offer the sacrifices

required for a little baby. And they

come into the temple and they're they

encounter Simeon the prophet who has

received a message from the Lord that

God would show him the Messiah. And then

they see Anna and this is what Luke says

about Anna in Luke 2 verse 36. There was

Luke 2:36

a prophetus Anna the daughter of Faniel

of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced

in years, having lived with her husband

7 years from when she was a virgin. And

then as a widow until she was 84. She

did not depart from the temple

worshiping with fasting and prayer night

and day. And coming up at that very

hour, she began to give thanks to God

and to speak of him to all who were

waiting for the redemption of Israel.

When when I read this recently in light

of this sermon and the topic of worship,

it's like God just prompted me in my

mind to think that is what we need

today. We need people who will worship

with fasting and prayer night and day

and who will give thanks to God and

speak of him to all who are present.

And we don't have to do that here like

Anna did it in the temple even in the

midst of so much chaos and confusion in

the temple that Jesus rebuked later but

she was there praying fasting and

worshiping. We don't have to do it in a

particular place but I think God is

calling us to be a people who worship

night and day with prayer and fasting

with thanksgiving with the testimony of

the gospel of grace. And when I thought

that, I thought, well, maybe we could do

a little bit, a little bit here and

there. That's good enough, right? A

little bit more than the church down the

road. That should get us by. Please God.

And then I spoke with someone yesterday

at the wonderful retirement party for

Steve who's in our church who was

sharing with me just as she got some

snacks how she was coming off a six-day

fast of having only water that God had

inspired and enabled her to do this past

week for the sake of praying for the

lost and for family and for God's

kingdom. And I thought

that's confirmation of what God is

calling his people to do to worship with

prayer and fasting and thanksgiving and

to share the gospel.

And what also encourages me knowing that

it's impossible God will enable us to

worship him. But it also shows that God

led her to pray and fast because God is

about to move in response to that prayer

and fasting. God is ready to move and

inhabit the praise and worship of his

people in a new and mighty way.

Our responsibility, our role is to

worship. To pray is to worship. To read

and study scripture is worship. To

meditate on the Father and the Son and

the Holy Spirit's goodness is worship.

To thank God for his blessings is

worship. To serve God in your vocation

with all of your heart is worship. To

share the gospel is worship. To shout

with joy and triumph is worship. To be

calm and at peace and trusting God is

worship. To participate in the life of

God's people in communion is worship. So

may we be people who worship. And by

God's grace, may he inhabit our worship

with blessings, with all of his goodness

and grace. Let us pray.

But Father, we pray that we would be the

kind of people that you desire, those

who seek you and worship you in spirit

and truth. Show us how, Lord. God, lead

us deeper into your presence. And

Father, let it not just be for our sake,

but for the sake of the lost who do not

yet know you. For the sake of the

hurting and the suffering, for the sake

that of those who are bound in darkness,

that they would see a great light coming

from this people. And that Jesus would

be glorified. Amen. Amen.