True Worship, Pslam 95

Here are the notes from my lesson for G.A.P. (Graduates and Professionals) at Thomas Road Baptist Church. This lesson was presented on September 11 and 18, 2011. I hope it is a blessing to you! Please feel free to leave a comment or contact me if you have any questions.

›True Worship: Psalm 95

›Introduction

›Today’s topic is worship. Remember, a few weeks ago we discussed the issue of “Committed or Complacent?” while looking at the early church in Acts 2:41-47.

›In Acts 2:42, we noted that the early church was continually committed or devoted to three things: the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, and to worship.

›We have already looked at the need for continual devotion to God’s Word (sound teaching), and the last two weeks we looked at the issue of fellowship.

›Today, our topic is proper worship.

›Let's look at the Word

›Below there are three texts listed. Each one deals in some way with our topic today.

›I want the class to break into three groups and take 5 or 10 minutes to consider one of these passages and answer the following questions:

›What does true worship look like?

›What are the components of true worship?

›Psalm 95

›John 4:19-24

›Acts 17:22-31

›Some background

›Now that we have all discussed several passages on worship, let me point out that this word appears in some form in almost 200 passages of the Bible.

›Apparently the issue of worship is very important to God.

›In some cases, worship results from passion.

›Everyone is passionate about something, right?

›Name some things people about which people are passionate

›When it comes to worship, however, we must realize that passion is not enough. The thing we worship must have weight, it must be worthy, it must be more than a mere emotional attachment.

›To worship means to give worth to something.

›Our passage today calls us to worship.

›Our Passage

›Psalm 95

›We have already discussed this passage in our groups, but let me give you a bit of background before we look at three aspects of worship found here.

›Psalm 95 was used in a particular time of worship in the life of Israel called The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. It happened in the fall, and people would go outside and live in little huts that they made.

›They would take their meals there for seven days to remember that they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

›And they would remember their mistakes that led to the wilderness.

›And they would remember God's grace as well.

›This Psalm then is a reminder to worship God for who he is and what he has done.

›This worship has three aspects

›Joy, Awe, and Obedience

›In each of these remember—Worship is a right response to God

›1. Joy

›Psalm 95:1-5—The psalmist reminds us to “sing for joy to the Lord.”

›What does this look like?

›Shouting

›Giving thanks

›Singing

›Did any of you watch football games yesterday?

›Are you like me?

›When I watch a game, it is not a “quiet” or “laid back” enterprise.

›All of me gets involved

›I yell, I stand up, I raise the roof

›When my team scores, I don’t sit quietly by and say, “Good job.”

›In fact, at football stadiums all around our country yesterday, when the home team scored, pandemonium probably erupted

›Yet when we worship God, we seem to act as though what he has done is worth less excitement than a touchdown

›I’m not saying that we need cheerleaders or a marching band at church (although the band thing could be cool, right?).

›What I mean is that we should show some excitement at what God has done

›Our worship should involve some emotional and joyful expressions

›What is the source of this joy according to Psalm 95? What has God done?

›He has given us salvation

›He is a great God (he is the best!)

›He is the High King over all Kings

›He holds the whole world in his hands

›He made everything, and it all belongs to him (Hebrews 1:1-4)

›Our God is worthy of our joy, of our excitement, of our worship

›True worship includes a joyful response to God’s person and work

›2. Awe

›Psalm 95:6-7—Now we see the tone shift a bit. The Psalmist goes from excitement and loud rejoicing to a more subdued tone.

›Worship, bow down, kneel—you can almost feel the action slowing down. We’ve had our shouting moment, now we are called to reverence, to quiet reflection, to a recognition of God’s presence as an awe-full experience

›Think of Isaiah 6:1-6—how did Isaiah respond when he saw God in the temple?

›He pronounced “woe” on himself

›He felt undone

›He got as low as he could in the presence of a holy God

›Throughout the Bible we find these kinds of responses

›Moses

›Daniel

›John the Apostle

›These people understood the need to get low before their mighty God

›They understood God as their creator, as the holy one

›Our passage contains that kind of feel.

›Yes, it is appropriate to come to God with rejoicing, dancing, shouts of joy, and excitement.

›But sometimes we need to slow down, to wait in his holy presence, to just sit still in front of the one who made us (the one who provides for us)

›What kinds of things cause “awe” in you? Why do you feel that way?

›Usually awe or a sense of reverence is caused by something “bigger” or “grander” than us

›That is how the psalmist sees God

›That’s how we should see him

›Like last week, we need to have a humble heart before our God (Hebrews 12:28-30).

›We are receiving from God the amazing gift of salvation and citizenship in his unshakeable kingdom.

›We didn’t earn it or buy it, we were given it by his grace and mercy

›Therefore we should show gratitude and awe

›We should respond with humble service to God

›True worship responds with reverence to God

›3. Obedience

›Psalm 96:8-11—the sense of awe and reverence should lead to an offer of acceptable service to God (remember Heb. 10?). This is the final point of our passage. True worship requires obedience.

›In the end of verse 7, our author calls us to pay attention, to give heed to the voice of God, while verse 8 warns us not to harden our hearts.

›The call here is to hear and obey. To hear and disobey or to ignore is not only dangerous, it may be deadly (cf. James 2:21-25; Hebrews 2:1-4)

›Note the change in tone again in verse 9.

›God is speaking now, and he does not sound happy!

›Worship has moved from our communications to or about God to God’s communication to us.

›God is speaking, we must hear and obey.

›God now tells us what happens when hearing his Word is not mixed with faithfulness and obedience (Heb. 4:1-2)

›In verse 10 he says “I loathed that generation.” Other translations say, “I was angry with them.”

›The word “angry” has to do with God being disgusted

›Verse 11 reminds us that a lack of obedience may lead to a strong rebuke (Heb. 3:7-12 quotes these verses; Heb. 4:11-13)

›We must be careful not to harden our hearts to God’s Word

›We must respond with obedience

›True worship waits for God to speak, then responds with obedience

›Conclusion

›True worship then involves at least three things:

›Joy at who God is and what he has done

›Awe in the presence of God’s character

›Obedience to God’s Word to us in worship

›In other words, when we worship God, we should include exuberance for his kind gifts, quiet reverence at his enduring holiness, and expectant hearts to hear him speak and to be quick to obey

›If only it was that easy, right?

›Worship can actually be very messy.

›Too often we focus on only one aspect and miss the others.

›We are too loud and never reverential.

›We are always quiet and never rejoice.

›We simply do not listen for God’s voice.

›If the truth were known, we would realize that worship “in Spirit and in truth” (John 14) can be serious stuff.

›If we understood the gravity of it, we would center our lives on seeking to worship a worthy God in a worthy manner

›Every thought and act would be connected to that desire

›So, how do we do it?

›First, let’s find a way to, as A. W. Tozer says, develop “an everlasting preoccupation with God.” It is not an option, it is our calling! Where do you need to remove obstacles that keep you from being preoccupied with God? What keeps your focus off of Jesus and his accomplishments on your part? This week take some time to look for and to remove those obstacles. Become obsessed with Jesus!

›Second, spend some time in corporate and individual worship. Read the book of Hebrews aloud this week. Hear the admonitions from that author to hear and to obey God. Pay attention to the amazing attributes and surpassing superiority of Jesus. Focus on that. Be obsessed with that. Make special time this week to pursue this worship.

›Finally, obey what God has told you. Share his message of grace with others. Love your brothers and sisters. Spend time living the life of Jesus among and toward others. Get involved in community by investing time and energy in blessing those in your life.

›True worship is a right response to God.

›Thanks for reading!