The Church and God (Worship)

The passage today comes from Acts chapter 2 verses 42 to 47.

Acts 2:42–47

! This passage is picking up after the baptism of 3,000 people,

! after Peter gave an account of what Christ had done for them and also for us.

So these new Christians devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship,

to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes,

they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved.

This is God's word.

God, as we just sang a few seconds ago, that you are majesty, the king of all kings,

the one who is glorious and beautiful in all of your ways and in all of who you are.

And God, in light of all that, when we think about our sin and our brokenness and our sin that's against you and our rebellion,

God, it's such an incredible thought that you would come down in Christ Jesus and be with us

and take our sins upon yourself, Jesus, to take our death, our shame upon you and die on that cross.

God, when we do confession and assurance, God, we realize the incredible beauty and incredible grace that we have in you, Jesus.

And we can't help but praise you and thank you with our hearts filled with gratitude and joy.

So God, now as we listen to your word, through your spirit, would you come and stir our hearts?

Would you stir our affections?

Would you stir not just our heads and intellectuals, but our hearts to honor and glorify you?

So Holy Spirit, would you come and be glorified?

And in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So, maybe I can start off with a question.

Do you know which is the most popular international destination for the residents of Hong Kong?

Japan.

Or Japan, right?

Okay, let me just see your hands.

How many of you have been to Japan?

Wow, that's incredible.

Me and my wife, we, last week we went to Japan for the first time, believe it or not.

First time, and we were there around the Mount Fuji area.

And for those of you who know, yeah, that's my photography.

For those of you who have been around this area, you know how incredible this sight is, isn't it?

Just the way that it stands from miles and miles away, the way it slowly peaks up and surrounded by these little houses and roads and trees and forests.

And all the way it goes up and there it is, standing all by itself, tall and majestic by itself.

Now, imagine you come up to me and you say, all excited, and I ask you, Alan, how was Mount Fuji?

You were expecting this wild and exciting feedback of my experience of Mount Fuji.

And all I say is, yeah, it was fine.

It was okay.

It was just 3,800 meters tall.

And, yeah, in fact, it looked like this huge pimple far away.

That's it.

Now, you would start wondering, did I even ever go to Mount Fuji?

Or maybe some of you would feel indignant, right?

It would be an insult to your experience of Mount Fuji or an insult to the glory of Mount Fuji.

Because here's the thing, right?

Deep down inside, all of us know that whenever we encounter something so majestic and so beautiful,

it should always, in some ways, inspire in us an awe or wonder.

And that is true when we talk about God, too.

So what is it that happens when we encounter God who is infinitely more majestic,

infinitely more glorious and more beautiful than the creation He created?

And that's what we're going to look into today.

So last week, we started this new series, which is going to go on for four weeks,

to almost slow down and see what the early churches were like.

Last week, we heard of how they were devoted to the teachings of the apostles,

how the Word of God was central to the life of early church,

how scriptures or the Word of God was not just information,

but is the living and active Word of God.

It's how God works through, and it's how we not just learn about Him,

but also meet Him through His Word.

But then what does that lead to?

If God's Word is an input in ways to encounter the majestic, beautiful, and glorious God,

then what is the output of it?

What does it result in?

What does it invoke in us?

Well, the simple answer is worship.

So today, what we're going to think about is,

we're going to think about how the early church was a worshiping church,

and how that should be shaping us as individuals,

but most importantly, how that should be shaping us as a church,

as a watermark church.

So what does it look like to be a church that's worshiping?

So today, we're going to look into it and think about it with three points.

And the first one is this, to behold.

Now, before we go any further,

I think we can all agree that we should start off by defining the word worship.

But the problem with that is,

worship is a word that is actually quite difficult to define well.

So what we're going to do is,

we're going to go into God's Word and kind of observe

how worship played itself out in the Scriptures.

So let's look at Revelation 4.11.

Here's a picture of 24 elders falling down and worshiping Him.

They cast their crowns before the throne,

and they all cry out, saying,

Worthy are You, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power.

Why? For You created all things,

and by Your will,

they existed and were created.

In the next chapter,

thousands of angels, elders, and living creatures

are gathered around the throne of Jesus Christ.

And they all cry out again.

They cry out,

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing.

And right after that,

we hear all creation in heaven and in earth

and under earth and over the sea,

and basically everything that's created

and everything,

all creation cries out,

to Him who sits on the throne

and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor

and glory and might

forever and ever.

So what do we observe here?

What do we see here?

Well, the first thing we need to think about

is the word worship

comes from the word worth-ship.

In other words,

to worship something,

or for instance right now,

to worship God,

means to ascribe the proper worth

to Him,

to magnify His worthiness of praise.

Or as you see in these passages,

to approach God

and address God

as He is worthy.

I want us to notice

a few things in these passages,

that all creatures

address God as worthy

of so many things.

But it's not just that, is it?

They address God as worthy

in light of all the things

that God is

and that God has done.

So in light of all

who God is

and what He has done,

they cry out worship.

So they cry out worthy

and worship Him.

Now what this tells us

is that worship

happens in light of

the revealed truth about God.

You know, in a very similar way,

the majestic and beautiful

Mount Fuji

calls us to spontaneously

praise Mount Fuji

and say,

wow,

seeing and understanding

the beautiful

and the worthiness of God

evokes us in us

a response

in worship.

See, in other words,

there seems to be two elements

to worship.

Donald Whitney,

in his book,

Spiritual Disciplines

for the Christian Life,

he says this,

he says,

we cannot encounter

the worthiness of God

without the response

of worship.

So in a simple

yet inadequate ways,

worship can be defined

as seeing the worthiness

of God

and responding to Him.

To seeing the glories

of God

and responding

to that beauty

and glory.

Now the question

we gotta ask now

is then,

where is it

that we see God?

Where is it

that we behold

His glory

and His majesty?

Now obviously

there are many ways

we can do that,

but the most primary

and the most sure way

and the most God-given way

is found in His Word,

in His Scriptures.

I mean, yes,

we can experience God

and His glory

when we look at creation,

when we see a sunset

and a sunrise

and go,

wow,

God,

you're incredible.

Or when you hold

a newborn baby

in your arms

for the first time

and say,

wow, God,

you work wonders.

But the reality is

those things

are still incomplete

to capture

the beauty of God.

And it's only

in His Word

that we completely,

well,

not completely,

in a more true

and sure

and deep way

to encounter

the majesty

of His Word.

Niels was sharing

last week,

it's in His Scriptures

that we come face-to-face

with who God is

and what He has done.

I mean,

this is why we do

the call to worship

in the beginning

of the service

which Oscar did today.

We don't do that

just because

it's a great idea.

We do that

because we're calling people

to see who God is,

what He has done,

and in light of that

sing songs of worship

in response to Him

through singing songs

of worship to Him

with rejoicing

and with awe.

And you see,

there is a beauty

in beholding God first

when we worship Him.

And one of the beauties

is that when we do that,

when we behold God,

we come to know

that there's an infinite supply

of reasons

to respond to God

in worship.

You see,

because when we come to God,

we'll find infinite reasons

to respond to Him

because He's a God

of infinite glory,

infinite majesty,

infinite beauty.

You see,

God is not like Mount Fuji.

After seeing a week,

you get tired of it.

After seeing it

from different corners,

you're going to be like

the people that live

around Mount Fuji.

You wake up and He's there,

yeah, that's Mount Fuji.

God is not like that.

You see,

the creation

and the beauty

of this creation

is finite.

It does not have

infinite beauty,

but God does.

God is the one

with infinite glory

and beauty.

No wonder

the living creatures

around the throne

worship Him

day and night.

They cry out to Him,

worthy are you, God.

When you think about that,

that should invoke

in us

a longing

to see God

because,

yes,

we are on earth.

Christ has not come yet

and we see glimpses

of this glory

here on this earth.

But one day,

beloved brothers and sisters,

we'll stand before

this glorious

and majesty God

with infinite beauty

and we'll behold it

with our eyes.

You see,

there's this beauty

in beholding God.

But at the same time,

there's also a danger

when we don't behold

the beauty of God

or when we don't behold God

in our worship.

And the danger is that

our worship,

our response to Him

might be out of line

of who God actually is.

Now imagine this.

Imagine Oscar.

I'm going to pick on you, Oscar.

Imagine you come up to,

someone comes up to Oscar

and say,

Oscar,

I met your two boys.

I can't believe

they are six foot tall,

they've got blonde hair

and they play

fantastic basketball.

Man,

they're awesome kids.

Now obviously Oscar

is going to say,

hey man,

thanks for the,

hey man,

that's what Oscar says.

Hey man,

thanks for the praise,

thanks for the compliment,

but my boys are

not six foot tall,

they're not blonde,

they don't play basketball,

they're just above my knees

right now.

Maybe you got the wrong guys.

And sometimes we can do

the same thing with God

if we don't spend time

beholding

who He truly is.

You see,

in other words,

worship starts

with beholding

God,

seeing the infinite

reasons

to respond to Him,

to seeing the truth

about who truly He is

and not come up

with their own versions

of who God is

and understanding

His worthiness

of who He is

and responding

to that.

So the first is this,

to behold

His majesty.

But then,

what's the output?

How do we respond

to that?

So now let's see

how the early churches

did that,

which leads us

to our second point

to respond.

So let's look at

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and see how the early church

responded.

In verse 43,

you'll see that

there seems to be

an awe,

or in other words,

a fear,

or reverence,

or respect

that came upon

every soul.

and he moved

down a little bit

to verse 46,

and they're described

as having glad

and generous hearts.

Or in other translations,

it says,

it was a joy

that was unaffected.

A joy,

unaffected joy.

And I think

that's a very incredible

thing to think about.

Have you ever met

a person

who has a joy

or happiness

that's unaffected?

that no one

can affect

or change

or destroy

his joy

or happiness.

It's very rare

to see someone

like that.

And here

is the early church

that's being described

as an unaffected

joy.

Now,

we cannot deny

the joy

and the reverence

and the awe

that we see

in the hearts

of the early church

as they respond

to God.

I mean,

John Piper,

when he talks about

truth versus emotions,

or in other words,

beholding of who God is

and responding

with affections,

this is what he says.

He says,

truth without emotions

produces dead orthodoxy

and a church full

of artificial admirers.

And he says,

strong affections

for God

rooted in truth

are the bone

and marrow

of a biblical worship.

I mean,

consider Psalm 100

where David says,

make a joyful noise

to the Lord

all the earth.

Serve the Lord

with gladness,

come into his presence

with singing.

And the truth is

because know that

the Lord,

he is God.

It is he

who has made us

and we are his.

We are his people

and the sheep

of his pasture.

Again,

enter his gates

with thanksgiving

and his courts

with praise.

Give thanks to him

and bless his holy name.

Why?

Because for the God

Lord is good

and his steadfast love

endures forever

and his faithfulness

to all generation.

You see,

joy

or affections

is a natural response

to the greatness

of God.

I mean,

it is one of the fruits

of the Spirit.

It is one of the fruits

of the,

when the Spirit

indwells

in us.

it is almost like

when you are standing

in front of the church

and you see your bride

walking down the aisle.

It just invokes

a joy

and an affection

that one cannot

really explain.

You see,

joy and affection

is a natural response

to who God is.

But then,

what if some of us

are going through

struggles?

What if some of us

are going through pain

and suffering

and affection

seems to be

difficult?

Well,

let's consider

what Psalm 40

has to say.

You see,

David is in trouble.

He needs rescuing

and in verse 1

he says,

I waited patiently

for the Lord

and he inclined to me

and heard my cry.

You see,

if you are struggling

and affection

seems to be difficult,

the reality is

actually even

wading through

difficult time

is a response.

It's a response

to the faithful God

trusting that

he will rescue you.

I mean,

verse 2 after that

tells us that

God does rescue David

and verse 3

he says,

he put a new song

in my mouth,

a song of praise

to our God.

Isn't that incredible?

Even in our suffering

when we respond

in patience

and waiting,

God puts a new song

in our mouth,

a song of praise.

God bless you.

But beloved

brothers and sisters,

there is a danger

and something

to think about

in this.

What if there is

no affection,

not even a desire,

not even a remorse

to have

over the fact

that we don't have

affections for God?

What if there is

no regret

over the joyless response

to God in our lives?

What if

our faith journey

has become mundane?

There is no more joy,

no more desire for joy,

no more desire for God

and we have

somehow settled

into a

routine

that is just

joyless

and

gray.

Well,

if

we are in that space

that I think

we should

truly consider,

reconsider

our faith

and our

worship to God

because worship

is

an affection-filled

response,

whether that is joy

or a longing

to have that joy

to God

in light of

His infinite

beauty and glory.

And if that's

where you are

in your life,

then you need

to cry out to God.

Maybe reach out

to a CG leader

or an elder

or seek your

fellow brothers

and sisters

for prayers.

You see,

in Acts 2,

what we see is

a church

that responds

with a joyful

heart,

an unaffected

heart

to God.

But at the same

time,

it's also combined

with an awe.

It's also combined,

the joy is combined

with a reverence,

isn't it?

There's a sense

of respect

and honor

towards God.

God.

Now,

just this past

week,

I was talking

with a youth

who is struggling

with a particular

sin,

and along our

conversation,

he says something

along the line

of this.

He says,

I want to honor

God

and not take

His grace

for granted.

God

and as we

talked about it,

we realized

that he

was so broken

over his

desire

for the sin,

which was more

than his desire

for God.

And I found

that incredible

because we live

in a culture

where we care

more about

what offends

us than

what offends

God.

than what

God wants.

And here

is a youth

that had a

desire to

honor God

over his

sin

and over

his desire.

You see,

worship is

a response

with joy

and affections,

but it's also

a response

with reverence

because it is

a response

to God

who is the

king of all

kings,

the creator

of all things,

the one

who is outside

of time,

the alpha

and the omega,

the beginning

and the end.

This is the

God that we

are responding

to.

You see,

worship also

comes from

another Greek

word,

which means

to bow

down,

to fall

down,

to lay

prostrate

before someone.

And that's

another meaning

of worship.

you see,

which means

that this

calls us

to really

consider

our lives

that goes

beyond what

happens within

this hall.

You see,

we can joyfully

respond to God,

serve in

multiple ministries,

raise our hand

and jump

while singing,

but our life

could be lived

in disobedience,

a blatant

dishonor

to the king

of kings.

God

is.

So,

therefore,

worship,

yes,

it is a

joyful response

to who God

is,

but it's

also a

reverent

fear and

awe response

to who God

is.

so far,

what we have

thought about

is worship

is a

response

to the

glory of

God,

but it's

also a

response

with joy

and reverent.

Now,

what does that

look like?

What does it

look like

as individuals,

but what does it

look like

as a church?

So,

finally,

let's look at

that in terms

of hands

and hearts.

Now,

to say it

in a very

simple terms,

all of our

lives are

meant to be

worship,

isn't it?

In fact,

we were

created to

worship God.

Isaiah 43

says,

bring all the

sons and

daughters to

me,

everyone who

is called

by my name,

everyone whom

I created

for my

glory.

This means

that everything

we do

should be

worship,

worship,

which means

that whether

it's tithing

or singing

or parenting

or working

or studying

or listening,

in other words,

everything should

be worship,

which is part

of the reason

why here at

Watermark we

call everything

worship,

right?

Worship in

benediction,

worship in

greetings,

worship in

sermon,

and worship

in response

to God.

Everything

is,

should be

part of

worship.

By the same

time,

everything we

do outside

of church

is also,

should be

worship.

Now,

consider Romans

12,

where Paul

says,

I appeal

to you,

therefore,

brothers,

by the

mercies of

God,

to present

your bodies,

all that you

do or all

that you

have or

everything you

are,

as a living

sacrifice,

holy and

acceptable to

God,

which is

your spiritual

worship.

Now,

to apply

what you've

just heard

in the first

two points,

this means

that all

of our

life should

be an

affectionate

and reverent

response to

who God

is and

what he

has done.

Now,

if some

of you are

hearing that,

you're going

to quickly

realize that

that is a

very high

standard.

Because we

all know

that that is

not always

true,

is it?

sometimes we

worship through

tithing,

not because

of who God

is,

which is that

he's a

generous God

and he did

not even hold

back his son

Christ Jesus

to pay the

price of our

sins.

Sometimes we

just tithe

because that's

what Christians

do.

You know,

sometimes we

can forgive

one another

because,

again,

that's what

Christians do

and we

got such

amazing

community

and I

want to

protect that.

But we

don't forgive

one another

because,

you know,

Christ has

forgiven us

first.

We don't

forgive one

another because

of the

incredible

news that

I am

forgiven

by Christ.

That our

sins that

were broken

and disgusting

and devastating

was forgiven

by God

because Christ

paid that

price.

You see,

we can do

a lot of

things,

a lot of

good things

like singing,

parenting,

working,

and we can

do a lot of

Christian things

without actually

worshiping God,

without actually

responding in

light of who

He is and

what He has

done.

because you

see,

God created

us to

worship and

in many ways

we are always

worshiping

something.

But the

brokenness in

us and the

sin in us

is that we

don't always

worship God

even when we

come into

church or do

Christian things.

Which then

tells us that

whether you're

a Christian or

whether you're

not this morning,

every problem

that we have,

every brokenness,

every sin that

we have is a

problem of

worship or in

other words is a

problem of

idolatry.

You see,

we modern people

might not bow

down to a

literal idol,

but we do bow

down to other

idols.

Like for example,

the idol of

money.

When we start

pursuing money

more than

anything,

when we start

using money

as a measure

of success

in ourselves

or in other

people.

And you see,

there are so

many idols

in life,

but idols are

not just out

there.

Idols are in

our hearts

to the point

where John

Calvin describes

the human heart

as an idol

factory.

The human

heart

continuously

produces

idols after

idols.

And the

thing about

idols is

that idols

always

requires or

demands

sacrifice.

You see,

for example,

for the idol

of money,

it demands

you sacrifice

time,

whether that's

your own

or time

that you

could have

given to

your loved

ones in

return,

only to

find out

that the

idol is

going to

just demand

more and

more of it

only to

not be

true to

its promise

of security,

success,

status,

satisfaction.

It is

going to

leave us

out to

dry.

And it's

true for

all kind

of idols.

The idol

of self,

the idol

of approval,

the idols

of health,

the idols

of comfort.

All these

things

demands

and demands

but it

never

fulfills

what it

promises.

But

beloved

church,

whether you

are Christians

or whether

you're not,

when we

come and

worship God,

we actually

come and

bring ourselves

to the

one who

actually first

himself

sacrificed

on our

behalf.

Yes,

like Romans

12,

we come

before God

bringing all

of ourselves

as a living

sacrifice,

but he's

actually to

the one

who first

sacrificed

himself on

the cross,

taking the

penalty of

sin that

you and

I had to

pay,

taking the

shame that

we tried to

cover up

with leaves,

and taking

the death

that you

and I

had to

pay.

And him,

unlike other

idols,

he's the

faithful one,

who is the

faithful one,

who in return

we are not

left out to

dry hanging

like with

other idols,

but in

whom we

find true

life,

in whom we

find unshakable

joy,

unaffected

joy,

peace beyond

understanding,

life that

does not

end,

brokenness

that's healed,

relationship

that's healed,

restored,

and ultimately

our deepest

longings that

are satisfied.

So,

church,

what does

it mean to

be a

church that

is a

worshiping

church?

Well,

I think the

first step is

to come and

behold our

incredible,

majestic,

and glorious

God.

It's to come

before God

and see in

his scriptures,

in his truth,

the majesty

and his glory

who laid

down his

life and

who is risen

and his

return is

sure,

and to

respond to

him in

everything that

we do,

to have our

focus on

him,

to have our

hearts on

him,

to have our

eyes on

him,

whether that's

inside this

hall or

whether that's

out in your

work when

you're working

under a very

terrible and

a difficult

boss,

or when you're

struggling with

your relationships

or in your

marriage or

parenting,

or whether

you're finding

difficulty in

making decisions

about dating

or relationships

or big

decisions in

life.

In all of

these things,

having our

heart focused

on who

God is and

responding to

him with

joy and

reverence.

So what does

it mean to be

a worshiping

church?

It's a church

that beholds

God and

responds to

him in

everything that

we do with

joy and

reverence.

So let me

end before we

pray with a

story.

I don't know

how many of

you know

Eugene Peterson,

the guy who

wrote the

message version

of the

Bible.

He shares

the story

about where

he was quite

young and he

sent by his

church to

start a

church in

a suburban

area where

he goes,

he starts

knocking on

different doors

and after a

lot of labor,

he gathers

these people

and they

start a

church in

his basement

and after a

lot of hard

work within

two years,

they got

enough finance

to start a

church, to

build a

church and

have their

own place

of worship.

And Peterson

thinks, Eugene

thinks, yes,

finally we are

here, finally we

are established,

now we can

focus on

worshiping God,

missions and

evangelism and

discipleship.

But to his

shock, he

suddenly finds

out that the

numbers are

actually decreasing

the numbers

start shaking

and people

actually stop

coming, actually

those exact

people that

helped start

the church and

that confuses

him.

So what he

does is he

goes back to

the same

doors that he

knocked and

he starts asking

questions, what

happened?

And the

response that he

gets is, you

know, we had

this huge project,

we've done it,

now the work's

done, and we're

just looking for

the next new

project to do.

And suddenly

Eugene Peterson

realized that

the church that

was so vibrant

was actually

more focused on

accomplishing

projects and

finishing projects

than actually

worshiping God

and loving one

another.

You know, that

story does tell

us something as

we move to

Viva.

Because as we

move to Viva and

as we settle

down and

everything's done

and the TVs are

set up and the

music is set up

and the sound

is set up, we

can all give a

huge relief and

sigh like, ah,

that's it, we're

done.

And sit back and

look for the next

new project to do.

But church, we are

called to be the

worshiping church.

Even as we settle

in Viva or even

as we have these

new big projects,

we are called to

have our eyes to

behold who God

is and to worship

him in his glory

and to respond

to him in joy

and reverence.

So church, let us

strive to be a

worshiping church

always having our

eyes focused on

who he is and

glorifying him and

worshiping him,

not just with our

mouths, not just

with our bodies,

but with our

hearts that's filled

with joy and

reverence for our

God.

So why don't we

spend some time to

think about that

because ultimately

we cannot do that

by pushing or

forcing ourselves

and saying,

come on guys,

be joyful.

We cannot do that.

So why don't we

spend some time in

prayer asking the

spirit to come and

do this work in us.

So let us spend

about 30 seconds or

a minute and I'll

come and lead us

in prayer.

so why don't we

know if we can

So why don't we

in prayer?

so why don't we

advance us

so why don't we

Yes,

so why don't we

advance us

Yes,

so why don't we

in prayer?

Yes,

advance us

so why don't we

advance us

so why don't we

advance us

in prayer?

Yes,

so why don't we

advance us

Father, we need you, Lord.

We need you to come and open our eyes to your majesty, to your glory, and to your beauty.

Father, we confess that sometimes our hearts, our mouths might be singing out songs of praise,

but our hearts are joyless and anxious about other things.

Holy Spirit, would you come and stir our hearts and passions for you,

not just to sing words or songs of worship and praise to you,

but to live all of our lives in light of who you are, God,

and the truth that one day we will witness and see with our own eyes

this infinite glory and beauty that's seen by your people right now.

God, we need you as a church.

We need you as individuals.

May our lives be a life of worship to you, God,

a life of joy and reverence, all of who you are, God.

So come, Holy Spirit, do this work in us for your glory and our good.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.