Christian Worship

You're here this morning.

You do not have a worship guide.

Would you raise your hand, please?

Everybody?

Got some right here?

Larry in the middle.

Everybody got a worship guide?

Thank you, Carla.

Boy, it's so good to just be in the house of God.

Got a lot of people with the flu.

A lot of people.

So be praying for the people that have the flu.

And uh took Deedra.

By the way, Deirdra's back.

Amen.

Deedra's back to leave again.

God bless you, Deedra.

We've got two teams.

We got the Honduras team and the Costa Rica team, and we're going to be praying for them here in a little bit.

So excited about our missions.

And by the way, next week, that's what I'm preaching on.

Our last core value is serving at home and abroad.

And so we're fixing send two teams abroad.

About 28 to 30% of our budget, that's unheard of, really goes to mission work and home and abroad.

So, and we are part of the convention, which means we got over 5,000 missionaries plus.

But we also have our own teams that's led by Deedra.

And Deidra and Susan and I go way back to Tennessee Temple days when I, Susan and I was president and vice president there, and co-pastor and pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church at that time.

Great work there for years and years.

And uh when I left, uh Deedra didn't last long there.

She uh But we won't even go there.

But uh anyway, uh she said, I don't know what God wants me to do.

I said, Well, I do.

I always gonna tell you what I think.

Now you don't have to take it or listen, but I that's who I am.

I can't help it.

Uh uh especially if you kind of give me an idea of what you want to do, then I I can really help you.

But uh I said, yeah, you why don't you come down here and and be my mission director?

And I know what she didn't say this, but I know what she was thinking.

Why in the world would I want to go with you to head up a mission program when you don't even have a church down there?

But we were gonna start a church.

We were gonna start a church, and I said, You help us start the church and let's just get in on it.

And and uh so yeah, yeah, well, because that's what we wanted to do, be a missions church.

And uh so long story short, she did, and God has so blessed her ministry.

Uh I was telling her outside earlier, I said, somebody asked me, has has Dieter quit Walmart and gone full-time missionary?

I said, no, no, no.

Uh she's in and out.

Uh and uh and her mother's doing a lot, brother.

Let's give God a hand for that.

Amen.

Keep praying for Roy.

He's he's getting, he's back home.

Boy, we had a scare there for another minute, and which we knew this was gonna be a two-year deal, even with the Bone Mara transplants, but keep lifting him up.

Just everybody on our prayer sheet, just keep lifting them up.

Uh, because again, it's uh there's some tough situations right now.

Just pray God rain down, rain down, rain down on them.

Today we're gonna be looking at biblical worship.

I want you to turn with me in your Bibles to start with.

We're gonna be in two passages.

John chapter 4.

John 4 · chapter mention

John chapter 4.

John 4 · chapter mention

And Jesus is speaking, and he talks about worship.

And here's what he says he says, there's a time coming.

Because if you remember in Old Testament worship, they always kind of either worshiped in a place or at an altar.

And he makes this profound statement, and he's talking to the woman at the well, and he says, But the hour in verse 23 is coming, and now it is, when true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Now, I want you to, on your outline, you'll see A, B, and C there.

We've got uh, there's three things I want you to understand about this profound statement that Jesus made in concern with worship.

Number one, the nature of worship.

Look at the nature of worship.

Man is to worship God in spirit and in truth.

Now, there's been a lot of people talk about what is the spirit and what is the truth.

Well, I'm gonna teach you this morning.

To worship God in spirit means to worship God with a spiritual drive, a spiritual ability of one's soul, seeking that most intimate, and I love this, communion and fellowship with God.

Trusting and resting in God's acceptance and his love and care for us.

In fact, what it really means is when you and I, when you have come into this sanctuary this morning, you have set aside everything else.

I hope you're not thinking about what you're gonna be doing when you leave here.

Hello.

Most, not most.

I gotta keep a lot of people come to church.

You know what they're thinking about?

Leaving.

Fifty-eight and a half minutes, they'll start watching the watch.

Let me tell you, that does nothing to me.

Nothing.

In fact, you keep looking at it, I'll probably come by and get your watch.

Nothing.

I don't come to church to leave.

I come to church to meet God.

That is true worship.

Now I've got news for you.

You go to a football game, whether it says Alabama or Auburn, and you'll go three or four hours early, stay three or four hours later, and you sit there and you jump up like an Indian clapping your hand, shouting and hollering till you can't speak anymore.

Or you hold up a big sign.

Who would do that?

I don't know who would do that.

Anyone know anybody that would do that?

Huh?

Anybody see that sign on Facebook with a beautiful lady named Christy Wilson?

And Pam.

Next Sunday, Christy, I want you and Pam to come with Jesus is awesome! Amen.

Hey, I keep up with you.

In fact, I'm watching when you don't know it.

But now listen, here's Jesus is saying, you gotta set aside everything.

And just just you're work, you're set Sunday morning aside just to come into his presence and bask in his glory.

And then the worship God in truth means to approach God in the right way.

And there's only one way.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

No man cometh unto the Father except by him.

So you gotta come to God through Jesus.

So you actually come right here, and I love this.

You approach him in the right way, but also you come when we're talking about in truth, sincerely and truthfully, not coming, now watch half-heartedly, not coming, hey, and I really mean this, hey, one with a wandering mind and sleepy eyes.

Sometimes you start nodding.

What does that mean?

Let me tell you what that means.

Sunday morning ought to be the most important time for you to come together collectively.

Well, first of all, personally and collectively to bask in the glory and the truth of who God is.

So that means you ought to go to bed a little bit earlier, maybe on Saturday night.

Not late.

It means you don't come to get up Sunday morning and come running in here on two wheels.

Oh, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.

Ball game, you want to get there first to get the best seats.

Good parking spots.

That's what it means.

Number two, the reason for worship.

The Father seeks men to worship him.

Can you imagine this?

God desires our worship.

For he created man to worship in fellowship with him.

Therefore, God seeks men to, hey, men who will worship him in spirit and in truth.

And we're going to see this in a moment in 1 Peter 2, but how we do that, but in Romans 15, 6, he says that you with one mind, and watch this, Romans 15, 6, one mouth, glorify God the Father through Jesus Christ.

One mind, one mouth.

You come to worship him in spirit and in truth.

With your mind and your mouth.

What we just did for 30, 35 minutes a while ago, we worship God with our mouths and our hearts and lifting praises and thanksgiving to him.

That's a major part of it.

And then note the one essential in worship.

It's not the place that is important in worship.

Not here in the New Testament.

It was in the Old Testament.

It was in the Old Testament, but not in the New Testament.

But how a person worships God is what's important.

A person must worship God in spirit and truth.

There's no other way.

God is spirit, and they worship him.

Hey, must worship him in spirit and truth.

From the moment, and I call it this, I wrote this to me.

It's that spiritual drive because I'm a person that's driven.

I'm not passive.

I'm driven.

And I thought to myself, for me, it's that driven, it's that drive and that depth of my soul to worship as God dictates that worship.

And it must be done through Jesus Christ in sincerity through God's word.

And watch this.

God should dictate this worshiping in spirit and truth.

And let me show you how he does it.

Jason, Colossians 3:16.

Colossians 3:16

I quoted it as in the beginning, but you've got to read it.

I want you to read it.

Let the word of God, the word of Christ, dwell in you richly.

You know what richly means?

Just what I what I just what I taught you.

In spirit in truth, richly.

You're allowing the word of God to be in the depths of your soul.

You're allowing the word of God to dictate what you're responding to.

And that's why, and I've told Benji and every praise and worship leader, and my son was one of the best in the country for 20-something years, Eric, that every worship song, every hymn, every song ought to bring glory and exaltation to Christ.

If it doesn't, it's not a Christian song.

I didn't say what kind of flavor you want to put on it.

But the words ought to exalt Christ.

It ought to lift him up because John 12, 32 says, if he be lifted up, he'll draw all men unto himself.

So it's very important.

Now watch.

Let the word of God go back to the word.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

Now watch, in all wisdom and teaching, and monishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

And what is that teaching?

That it's dictated, and the songs are guided, and the worship is guided, and the praise is guided through the truth of God's word.

Now that's worship.

I define worship every time through that one verse.

People used to, there used to be a major battle over music.

You got to just use the hymns with the hymn book.

Can't do it, throw it.

I mean, it was, and I used to, every time, and back then I was traveling to a different church every Sunday.

I'd be, what do you think about this music?

I said, let me tell you.

And I'd get up.

I said, preacher, you want me to help you?

Yeah.

He said, Yeah, I'm having problems with music.

I said, Let me help you.

I'll help you.

When I start preaching this morning.

And I'd take him to that verse.

I said, this is what music is all about.

Christian music ought to exalt Christ to the point.

It ought to exalt Christ.

It ought to teach you about Christ.

And if it does, there'll be a melody in your heart, songs in your heart.

That's that spirit, that yearning.

You can't help it to praise him.

But it's all about him.

It's not about you.

It's not how good which uh Benji and Sean and these other singers, but the musicians, it's not how how they how good they play a guitar or drums or or or naiva on the keyboard.

It's not showing out that's no, no, look at me.

No, it's praising him.

Too many performances in a church stage.

We don't need performances, we need true praise.

Big difference.

And you know it.

You know it.

Your spirit bears witness.

If, hey, let me say something.

If you walk in here spirit-filled, you'll know who's on the stage, spirit-filled.

Because your spirit bears witness with each other.

Just like it bears witness with God the Father, Romans 8, 16.

Amen.

So that's it.

Jesus said unto Satan himself, get thee behind me.

Because it is what?

Written.

Thou shalt what?

Worship the Lord thy God in.

Hey, and him only shall thou serve.

He could have easily said, Thou shalt worship me in spirit and in truth.

Because I am truth.

With that said, what is vibrant?

That's just an introduction.

What is vibrant Christian worship?

Turn with me to 1 Peter 2.

Three things.

Three things we see about vibrant Christian worship.

Oh, it's beautiful.

In verses 1 through 9, we'll be looking first of all at the preparation for worship.

But before we do, let me share this with you.

Worship is the highest.

I want you to write this down.

Worship is the highest activity of a Christian, of a man or a woman, a Christian man or a woman.

It's the highest activity you can do.

There's nothing you can do any better than to worship the awesome God in spirit and truth.

Nothing else.

That isn't it amazing that God Himself says, I desire, I seek for you to worship me that way.

Now, folks, that's pretty powerful.

Nothing more important.

The problem is, man, us, most of us, are activists in nature, which means if we're not careful, we'll find ourselves forever serving but not worshiping.

Or we'll find ourselves working but never waiting upon God, seeking Him.

It's easy to serve and to work.

But it takes a little effort to be still and know that He's God.

Amen.

I can study the Word of God five hours without the only thing I do is get up and get a cup of coffee and go to the bathroom.

I mean, five, six hours.

I do it all the time, every week, at a time.

But praying, I can start praying, and after my prayer sheet, I pray and I pray everything, and I look up and I think, man, I've prayed at least an hour, and it's about 20, 20 minutes.

You know it, you know it, you know it.

Because it takes time to yearn.

You see, what we do, we allow the worldliness and Satan to not allow us to be still.

I mean, we can't, you can't even be still.

You go to the bathroom and take your phone and you're texting in the bathroom.

Hello, owe me now.

What preacher, did you go into the phone?

You're texting, you, you know, i it everywhere you go, you got that thing.

Yeah.

And if you lose it, oh God forbid.

All right, who's guilty of that in here?

The other half of you lied.

Or you don't have a phone, and maybe you don't have a phone, that's okay.

I'm not even going there on that one.

Or you have a little flip phone.

The central teaching of scripture is the worship of God.

Did you hear me?

The central teaching of Scripture is the worship of God.

It's more taught about by God Himself than anything else.

Worshiping Him.

Is that not awesome?

It's the central theme in Scripture is worshiping God.

Man was made for worship and he rises to his highest potential, especially as a redeemed person, when he worships God.

There's nothing more important to God than you to worship him in spirit and in truth.

That's why it's so important to be here.

Now you say I don't have to be here to worship.

Absolutely right.

You worship him individually, but you also worship him corporately.

There's nothing more exciting and coming together.

So, how do we worship?

Let's look at it.

Well, this is the person came in here, thought we were going to talk about clapping and raising hands.

Buckle up.

First of all, the preparation for worship.

There's two things.

There's the social preparation, and then there's the spiritual preparation.

But let's look at the social preparation first.

Look at verses 1 through 3.

Therefore, in 1 Peter 2, laying aside all malice, guile, hypocrisies, envy, and evil speaking as newborn babes, verse 2, desire the sin, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby.

Now, if indeed we have tasted that the Lord is gracious at the end of that verse 3, what preparation have you and I met to get ready for God today?

Did we spend quite moments before we got here?

Did we spend moments in the Word or praying before we came?

Listening to dynamic praise and worship music to get your hearts in the worshipful mood?

Did you do that?

That's why I don't pull in here until about nine a little after, cause anywhere from 6 to 6:30 till I walk out the door, it's me and the Lord in the Word, listening sometimes, even.

I can do that.

I can listen to praise and worship and study.

Now Susan can't do that.

She's got to have one.

But I can do that.

I can listen to two conversations at one time and tell you exactly what both of you said.

She used to ask me all the time, she said, you're not listening to me because I'd be doing something.

I'd turn around and tell her exactly what she just said.

But then she said, That's not what I want you to do.

I want you to look at me.

Focus.

That's it.

Look at me when I'm talking to you.

Have you ever told your children that?

Hey, hey, hey, look at me.

Yeah, right here.

But what did you do this morning to get ready for worship?

Now let's look at this social preparation.

This is powerful.

This is what we're all going to say, oh me.

Therefore, laying aside all malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, and then for speaking.

Now, all these are kind of together.

But the word malice, excuse me, the word therefore lay, the word laying aside, those two words.

Apothe.

Apothe.

It literally means to take, like, here's a good example.

It means to take off one's clothes.

That's what it means.

It means to cleanse oneself of the things that defile you, basically.

That's what it means.

In fact, what he's saying here, Peter admonishes God's people to refuse to accept or be associated with these things.

That's what he's talking about.

That will hinder your cooperative or your individual worship.

That's what he's saying.

In fact, he says, all malice, all guile, all evil speaking.

Here are the three social evils, and one is amplified.

Watch it.

We must watch against social, and I really believe this, divisiveness.

We shouldn't let anything divide our church.

Can I get an amen?

Nothing.

You should not let anything divide you and your husband or you and your friends.

Nothing.

Not as Christians.

Not as Christians.

There's nothing that two Christians cannot sit down through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God work it out.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Paul talked about that in Corinthians.

He said, why do you need a judge?

You don't need a judge.

You got the word of God.

You got the men of God.

You got the people of God.

You can sit down and work it out.

They didn't have in Bible times these billboards.

Call me Alabama.

They didn't.

They didn't.

They didn't need it.

They could sit down and work things out together.

All malice.

The word malice there is a bad word.

Carcaea.

And it literally means wickedness, all forms of evil.

And I wrote this down.

I looked at several.

Then I said, give me my definition.

It's deep-seated feelings against a person.

It's a deep-seated feeling against somebody.

In other words, anytime that person or that name comes up to you, you know what you first think of?

Something evil against them.

You want something bad to happen toward them.

That's bad.

That's bad.

But that's what it means.

I mean, it's it's bad.

It means, and here, here's what I wrote.

It means ill will, and it's vicious, spiteful, and it's holding a grudge.

You can't let it go.

And here's the sad thing.

It'll eat you more than it does the person that you're, hey, have it toward.

You are.

You are.

But now notice what else.

Well, let me give you an example.

God only blesses where there's a spirit of unity.

Psalms 133.1.

Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.

Psalms 133, verse 1.

Psalms 133:1

And then I found this verse and I memorized it.

Colossians 3.8.

You know what it says?

Put off anger, wrath, malice, filthy talk.

Put it off.

Take it off.

Get rid of it.

Think a minute.

Is there anybody that when you walked in this morning, you saw you couldn't shake hands or hug their neck?

I've literally had people, now not here, but people see me, and especially in the grocery store or Walmart.

I saw one the other day in Walmart.

And I was already talking.

I go to Walmart and stay an hour and a half.

Susan will not go to Walmart with me.

She goes by herself.

Because I visit half the church in Walmart.

And but I saw, I looked up someone and and and I I saw them and and they saw me.

I well, I'm not sure they saw me, but I happened to catch them inside.

They saw me and when I and boy, they took off and went down, because they were coming toward me.

And then they took off and went down this side.

I thought to myself, okay.

So I took off and went down the other house.

And when they came, and uh then they turned, there I am.

Hey, how you doing?

You didn't.

I did.

Why?

Because I love them.

And a lot of times they say, Well, I'm not mad at you, preacher, but I don't like you know.

I said, Well, well, when you don't like anything at the church that I'm pastoring, you don't like me.

Because the book stops here.

Hello?

Hey, you know, as a leader, you can't get all the praises and no criticism.

Thank you.

Okay?

But I love them.

I care about them.

And you know what?

Now you may not believe this, God knows my heart.

I don't want them to have that bitterness and that malice so that they can worship God freely wherever God sends them.

That's why we go see somebody.

If we hear somebody's upset, they're leaving the church.

I'm coming to see you.

I don't want you to have any animosity.

Or at least I want you to tell me so I can.

If I've done something, I ask you to forgive me.

I'm sorry.

I'm serious.

You leave the church.

A lot of times, I I hey, if you leave a church and you got animosity and bitterness towards somebody in that church or the pastor or the leadership, listen to me.

I'm gonna help you here now.

If you don't get that right, when you go to another church and something happens and you don't like it, or somebody does something that they shouldn't do, that not just that incident, but all that other bitterness from that other church is gonna pop up and you're gonna have an explosion.

And I don't want to be in that in your present when you have that explosion.

And I don't want you to have that explosion, period.

So let's deal with it.

Can I get an amen?

What I'm preaching right now, very few people, if any, hardly ever do it, but if you did, it would change the whole church worship.

Same way with your wife.

How many of you come to church and you're mad at your wife?

Three of us.

I know we got a bunch of liars this morning.

Or excuse me, ladies, how many of you come to church mad at your husbands, ladies?

Come on beyond it.

See, I know, I know it's there.

I know.

When I was at open door Baptist Church, God knows my heart.

I was pulled out of late view.

By the way, let me tell you, we had two children.

Susan, getting up on Sunday morning was a uh it was a chaos at our house.

So what I did, I developed a prayer group at church, so I left early by myself and went and picked David and all of them up, and we went and prayed for the chaos.

But Susan still had to deal with it.

I understand.

I had to I didn't want to know.

But what I'm saying is I put up my hand on the score and I know I'm very well, and and the wife was given the data and the few noted.

This is social divisiveness.

It's it's it's terrible.

No no second thing, social deceitfulness.

The word guiles here is powerful.

It's dilice.

And it means to deceive, mislead people.

It literally means a good synonym I saw as I was doing word search on the word guile.

It means two-faced.

And it deals mostly with words flattery, false promises, false tales, often off-color suggestions, and then downright lying.

That's what Guile means.

Now, let me tell you one of the most powerful passages of scripture about lying and guile.

Acts chapter 5, verses 1 through 10.

Acts 5:1–10

You don't have to go there.

I'm gonna tell you quickly a little story.

Because I got a lot more I got to cover here in 20, 25 minutes.

Listen.

Ananias and Sapphire.

Remember them?

They sold their land.

Every Barnabas had given land to help meet the needs of the church in Jerusalem.

And Ananias and Sapphire sold land, and they wanted to be popular too, so they said that they were going to give all their proceeds to the church to help the people.

There was, this was after Pentecost.

I mean, it was thousands of people had been saved.

I mean, no place to stay.

They needed help.

Now, the Lord didn't tell Ananias and Sapphire how much to give.

Okay?

But here's what they did.

They told the church they're gonna give it all.

They didn't have to say that.

They could say, I'm gonna give 10%.

They could say, I'm gonna give 20%.

I'm gonna give 50%.

But they said they're gonna give it all.

And then guess what?

They didn't.

They lied.

They were deceitful with their words.

So you know what happened?

The Holy Spirit.

Hey, you lied to the Holy Spirit.

You know what the preacher said?

Preacher said, because you lied, and he even went on saying it was your money, you didn't have to say you were going to give it all.

He literally says that in the scripture in verses 1 through 2.

He said, but you you said you were, and then you lied to God in the Holy Spirit.

Boom, dead.

He falls dead right there.

Bam.

Now let me tell you something, folks.

It's a serious thing to lie to God.

And then his wife comes in and they ask her the same thing.

Did you say you were gonna give all the money?

She said, Yeah, we did.

She said, but but you didn't.

No.

Well, they're fixing to drag you out and put you and bury you with your husband.

Killed her just like that.

Now I don't like that passage.

I'm gonna be honest with you.

It's a mean, I you think it's a mean, but what he, what there's what God's trying to convey there is the seriousness of worshiping God.

You can't play with God in America.

Listen to me.

What's going on in America is on we're on shaky grounds right now.

Because you're lying to an awesome God.

And you can't do that and get away with it.

So that'll change your worship.

Hey, you know what I was thinking about me?

What would it if you had a machine standing there that could denote all the deceitfulness and all before you come in, so you know you wouldn't be killed.

Because if you come in and start worshiping God and you're lying and deceitful about it, bam.

Wow.

No, but and that isn't extreme.

But folks, if you can, that's why my heart's breaking for America right now.

We it's it's so far away from what this country was founded on.

And that's what it means.

Here it is pretending that you're something you're not.

That's what it is.

How can you worship when you're pretending you're something that you're not?

And then that brings us to the social destruction.

You got the social decisiveness, deceitfulness, and then destruction.

All evil speaking.

Here's the Greek word.

The Greek means to run down a person and refers to destructive criticism.

That's what it means.

That's what it means.

David said this after he was praying to God.

Here's what he said.

God, whoso privately slanders his neighbor, him will I cut off.

Wow.

Folks, you don't have to talk about each other.

Satan's doing enough of that.

Can I get an amen?

We don't need to be talking about each other.

We need to be loving each other.

We need to be helping each other.

Yeah, will you disagree with me?

Yes.

Will I disagree with you?

Yes.

But isn't there a loving way that we can talk?

And I meant Susan, I've been married 38 wonderful years.

36 for her, 38 for me.

And and we're so opposite.

If I if I like a piece of furniture, I know she's not gonna like it.

We're that opposite.

If she likes a piece of furniture, she knows I'm not gonna like it.

But you know, we don't kill each other over our dislikes or our differences.

And we agree on that.

But do you do you hear me, folks?

Here's what he's saying.

And here's what you're saying.

How does that affect my worship?

It affects it every way.

If you walk in here and you're not right with God and people, you're not gonna worship him in spirit and in truth.

You're not, folks.

I'm sorry.

You're not.

You can't.

What about Peter?

Peter says to the husband and wife, how can you even expect God to answer your prayers if y'all don't have, you know, if there's all between you and your husband?

Man.

That's pretty powerful.

That same principle applies to worship.

Can I get an amen?

Alright?

So, with that said, then there's a spiritual preparation.

Look at it.

I know y'all, y'all hanging your heads, that's enough.

As newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby.

1 Peter 2, 2.

What is he saying, his newborn babes?

He's saying, desires earnestly the unadulterated milk of spirituality.

Come spiritually hungry.

We know that a baby, once it's born, I was explaining this to my grandson about the love of God's word.

What he's talking about here, he's, and he's he's using this in the context not as spiritual babies, but they are, but also for worship, the application is that we have a spiritual desire, a hunger for the truth of God's word.

And you know, and I know that a baby, once the baby was born, what did it desire more than anything, other than a little of the exercise kicking and having its diapers changed, was the what?

Feed me, feed me, feed me.

I am convinced Sunday and every morning when you get up, you ought to be so hungry for God's word that you can't wait to get into it.

Job said it this way in Job 23, 12, he says, I esteem the words of God more than my necessary food.

Jesus put it this way Men shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Wow, that's good.

That's so good.

Then look at verse 3, he adds, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, if you have discovered that the Lord Jesus is the only one who can satisfy you spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, volitionally, and physically and vocationally, then you're going to worship him.

Hey, with that expected spirit.

You remember I started out saying, what does it mean?

With that hunger and that deep-rooted urge to be in his presence.

Oh man.

Which brings me to our second point.

Preparation for worship is social preparation, spiritual preparation.

But then there's the motivation for worship.

Look at it.

Verses 4 through 8.

Verse 4 says, Come to him as to a living stone.

And then verse 8 says, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

Peter is writing here to the Jews who were scattered abroad, being persecuted, and he reminds them that they were, hey, that they could be just as real in their worship as before the dispersion.

Hey, provided that they came to him wherever they were with the right preparation and the right motivation.

And look at what the motivation is.

This is good.

Number one, the right motivation is coming to worship the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In fact, verse 4 says Christ is the captivating point of our worship.

Write it in.

Hey, coming to Him as to a living stone.

Peter does not use the phrase idly here.

The idea right here is that of being drawn to a focal point.

Jesus is the captivating point because he's the living stone.

Ladies and gentlemen, out of all the other false gods, hey, our God is the only living God.

You can go to all the tombs.

You can go to the tomb of Buddha.

You can go to the tomb of Stalin.

You can go to any of the faults of Muhammad.

You can go to Joseph T.

Smith.

You can go to all the false leaders of these cults, and their bodies are in the tomb.

But when you go to the tomb in Israel, it is empty.

He's not here, for he is risen, as he said.

He's alive.

He's alive.

We worship a living God.

He's Hebrews 2 2.10 says he's the captain of our salvation.

Oh, look at verse 7.

Here's what he says: he says, because he's alive, he becomes precious to us.

So when we worship, we do so because of Jesus, for he is the one from whom we have received life, love, and light.

Notice the second thing.

Christ is the concentrating point of worship.

Look at verse 5.

You also, as living stones, individual stones, are being built up.

In other words, our blessed Savior is not only the captivating point of worship, but the integrating point of worship.

He is the chief cornerstone, and in him we all fit and come together.

In other words, not only is Jesus alive, but when he comes into our life, we become alive.

It is the spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing.

These things that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

John 6, 63.

He says, I've come to give you what?

You know it, verse 1010.

He's come to give you what?

Life and give it to you what?

More abundantly.

Wow.

Folks, that's worship.

How can you come in here if you're alive and not praise him with a right heart attitude?

How can you do that?

You come in, I'll tell you how you, when you don't come in here, fill with the Spirit, you come in here and there's no joy.

There's no joy, yeah.

That's it.

You're just going through the motions.

But the joy of the Lord is what?

Our strength.

Jesus said, these things have spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and what?

That your joy might be full.

Wow.

That's that deep-seated yearning for being in his presence.

Oh, that's good.

Man, that's good.

Christ is the concentrating point of our worship.

Let me tell you what that means.

If he's the chief cornerstone and in him we all fit and come together, there's no race or class distinctions.

Can I get an amen?

No race, no class distinctions.

We all are one.

The common denominator is that cross.

When you come to Christ, we're all one.

We're all one.

There's no class distinctions.

There's no race distinctions.

I love what he says.

We are all leveled to the same position of worship.

If the metaphor of a house of living.

Isn't that what he said?

Except the Lord build the what?

House.

They labor in vain that build it.

Psalms 127.1.

Watch this.

This means there is no, I wrote this down.

You can see in my outlines, I put red, that's me.

God speaks so directly to me, I write it down.

So that I'll never forget it when I go back and look at it.

Here's what I said.

I wrote down Psalms 127.1.

He gave me that verse.

This means there is no pride, arrogance, envy, jealousy, criticism, backbiting, anger, accusations, discrimination, prejudice, or wrath in God's house.

Wow.

That's called sweeping it clean.

Amen.

So how can you come in here this morning?

How could I come in here this morning and really worship God if I've got some if I have some anger in my heart with my wife?

How could you come in here?

How could I come in here and worship God if I had anger in my heart toward David, one of my administrators?

How could I come in here and worship God if I had anger in my heart?

Or I'm I'm I'm disgusted.

We don't like the real biblical words, so we we we try to smooth them over.

I just disagree with Rick, and I'm upset.

He won't do it my way.

He didn't want to do it my way.

And I'm gonna preach it.

How can I stand up here and preach and worship God?

I'm not gonna do that, folks.

I am not gonna do that.

I'll make him preach.

That's what the Lord's Supper means.

Hello.

Listen to me.

We partake of that Lord's Supper, and it says you do not come unworthily.

What I'm preaching my heart out at the first Corinthians let the Lord's Supper pertains to worship.

Do you understand that?

It's powerful.

This is not a game.

This is not a ritual.

This is an act and a relationship with a real God.

Can I get an Amen?

Can I get an O me?

Oh me.

Man, that's good.

I know.

I'm I'm my feet are bleeding.

You ought to have to study this for the last week and a half.

I'm telling you what, I have been worshiping, but I've been more confessing than worshiping.

You gotta get that's part of it, by the way.

Amen.

Which brings me to Christ is the culminating point of worship.

That's it.

He's the highest.

He's precious.

He hath raised us up and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2, 6, which brings me to the last point.

The preparation for worship, social preparation, spiritual preparation.

The motivation for worship.

He is the captivating point of worship.

He's this concentrated point of worship.

He is the culminating point of worship.

And then lastly, the convocation for worship.

Verses 4 through 8, look at what he says.

Verse 4.

I'm sorry, excuse me.

Verse 5.

You also, now watch what he says.

As living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices accepted to God through Jesus Christ.

Convocation, the word here, means to call together.

The reference here is the greatest challenge to come together outside of Hebrews 10, 25, which says, not forsaking the assembling ourselves together as men or some are, but exhorting one another so much more as you see the day approaching.

He says, this is the second greatest, greatest proof for why we come together.

Because we are being built up in a spiritual house.

Hey, say this with me.

I'm a part of a spiritual house.

You are part of a spiritual house.

We are a part of a spiritual house.

And each of us have our we each of us are a living stone and we have our place.

Christ is the chief cornerstone, and we are built on him.

So we that's why we come together.

You can be a stone by yourself out there, but can I say something?

You're not gonna accomplish your whole lot.

You can't build a house by yourself.

Think about that.

That's gonna help you.

Why do you come to church?

Because we God wants a spiritual house.

Whoo! I'm gonna have a and upon this rock I'll build my church.

And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

God builds a spiritual house, and that house is to attack the demons of hell.

That's why we're here.

We're an army, we're a family, to stand for righteousness and truth.

And we do.

We come together.

David said, I was glad when they said, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

Psalms 122, verse 1.

Psalms 122:1

In other words, look at it.

And it's written in the imperative move, and here's what it says You also, as living stone, built yourself up.

In other words, come together as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices accepted to God through Jesus Christ.

Number one, the calling together of God's people is to be in the spirit of unity.

We're no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building grows into a holy temple in the Lord, being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.

Woo! That's Ephesians 2, 19 through 22.

Isn't that good?

Man, that's good.

That's who we are.

That's who we are.

As a unified body, the Holy Spirit receives from our hearts everything calculated to gladden the heart of God.

Woo! Number two, the calling together of God's people is to be in the spirit of purity.

A holy priesthood.

Search me, O God, know my heart.

Try me, know my thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me.

Cleanse me.

Number three, the calling together of God's people is to be in the spirit of dignity.

I like this.

1 Peter 2 9.

Chosen generation, royal priesthood, holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who's called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We are a priesthood that is royal, and the character of royalty is majesty and dignity.

In other words, hey, there ought to be order and reverence and dignity to our worship.

Now that doesn't mean you have to be chosen frozen.

That doesn't mean that at all.

But what it does mean is 1 Corinthians 14, 33, and it literally says, God is not the author of confusion, but of peace in the church.

And then he says in verse 40, let everything be done decently and in order.

Amen.

Is that not good, church?

Is that not good?

Aren't you glad that you're in a church that you are taught the word of a living God?

Precept upon precept.

Word upon word.

That never returns void.

But accomplishes where God sends it.

Amen.

Isaiah 55, love.

Amen.

And then the last thing, the calling together of God's people is to be in the spirit of ministry.

Isn't that beautiful?

Look, verse 5 again.

You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.

Now, watch, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Now, all scholars agree that there are three New Testament references to spiritual sacrifices, and I'm through.

I'm just gonna give them to you.

Here they are.

Present our bodies a living sacrifice.

Romans 12, 1 and 2.

Secondly, Hebrews 13, 15, and 16 gives us the second and third mentions of these sacrifices, and it says, it urges us to render the sacrifice of praise to God with our lips, giving thanks to his name.

And then verse 16 says, doing good and sharing with others.

God is well pleased with such sacrifice.

And the word there, share, as communicate, means communicate, literally the translation.

Watch means giving aid to people with money.

That's why in a moment when we take up an offering, we don't just throw an offering in the because we need money.

Offering is part of God's worship.

Somebody said that they have a church and they don't even take up an offering or ask him to come.

They just throw it in the back, and if you want to give, give.

They don't understand what worship is.

But to do good and to communicate, to give to others, to help others.

That's part of worship.

Do you know one of the greatest things?

All right.

Sean, this is good.

Alva, this is good.

Let me tell you what God taught me.

Genesis 1, Genesis 2, Genesis 3.

I'd never put this together.

Church, this is direct divine revelation God gave me this week.

Listen, listen.

What does he talk about?

Work, work, work, work, work, work.

Do you know God loves for us to work?

Ephesians 4, he says we work to give to help others.

I think it's Ephesians 4, 24, 25, right in there.

All right, watch, here it is.

That's why we work, we work all week so that we can come to church on Sunday and worship an awesome, mighty, real God who has blessed us and given us everything that should remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that gives thee power to get well.

And we are thankful that he's enabled us to be and to have what we have because of his glory, and we're his ambassadors, we're his people, and we come back collectively to give back to him so that we can be a blessing to the whole community.

That's it, that's it, church.

That's it.

That's what we do, that's who we are.

We worship him in spirit and truth.

Wow.

So this morning, can we worship him?

Bow your heads.

Right now, I want you to just say, search me, O God, know my heart, try me.

If there's any wicked way in me, lead me in the way of everlasting.

I want you to just purify your hearts.

And Lord, as I ask our missions team to come up this morning in this sweet moment of the service, those that are going to Honduras, I thank Barry and his couple of firemen or firemen that's going to Costa Rica.

Amen.

Come on, guys.

I wanted it to be in a sweet, sweet moment in the church.

I know there's some out in the lobby, been watching out there.

Melvin, them, come on in.

Anybody else here?

That's going.

Jesse?

I know Jesse, there's security.

Okay.

Amen.

David, are you going?

No.

I know Melvin's going.

My heart's overflowing this morning, folks.

Because if we understand what true biblical worship is this morning, you know, I've had several of you email me from last week about loving our church.

Well, I hope you'll take these messages and put them somewhere.

Listen to them again.

Because if we exercise these four core values, we are becoming what God's church should be.

And if that be the case, hey, he's going to rain down.

Yes, in the bad times, yes, but in the good times.

He's going to rain down his power and his Holy Spirit on this church and on us.

He's going to rain it down.

He really is.

And this is what we're going to be preaching on next week.

Right here.

Right here.

Our last key core value is what?

Fulfilling service.

At home and abroad.

And they're going abroad.

They're going abroad.

They're going to be the hands, the feet, the labor, the love, the compassion, the giving of CCW in Honduras and Costa Rica.

You're going to be there.

You're going to be there.

Not in person, but in spirit and in prayers, praying for them every day.

That God uses them in an unbelievable way to bring the love of God to a group of people, of churches and orphanages that need Jesus.

We're commissioning them.

We're praying for them.

We're laying our hands on them to send them out.

Just like we lay our hands on you when I'm preaching and lifting my hands up at the end of every service.

We're sending all of us out into our community to share the good news, the gospel.

Amen?

And to invite people back so that we can love on them and help them and minister to them and comfort them.