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!

Complacent or Committed? Acts 2:41-47

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meeting on July 31 to August 7, 2011. This lesson begins a short series asking the question: To what are we as Christians committed? My goal is to give an overview of the attitudes, passions, and even practices in which the early church engaged as a means of gauging where we are as an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church. I hope you get something from it! If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Complacent or Committed?
Acts 2:41-47

Introduction

I have to confess, I am a college football fanatic.
Not a fan, but a fanatic
My wife will tell you, I can watch just about ANY college football game and get passionately involved
I’ll even cheer loudly for teams I barely know
I’m certainly not a complacent fan

On the other hand, I don’t know that I am committed to college football.
I’m certainly not as committed as the young people who play the game
They practice regularly, they sweat together, they plan together, they even bleed together every week just to get ready for one game
They are passionate and committed to the success of their team

Have you ever been part of a church that was like that?

Someone describe an experience in a passionate and committed body of believers

I don’t know about you, but I could be attracted to a gathering like that—a group of people on fire

A fire creates excitement and attracts people
Charles Finney said: If your church is on fire, people will come from miles around to watch it burn.

Today I want us to take a look at a passage in Acts and ask: What can we gain from this passage to become a committed community for Christ?

How can true community be generated in a world that puts a premium on privacy?

Who are these People?

Remember that this gathering started with 11 men—a conglomeration of fishermen, tax collectors, and other undesirables
In fact, these individuals weren’t even properly educated
On the day of Pentecost, few of those present had walked with Jesus for 3 years, the rest were relatively new believers
None of them were “ordained” or “licensed” to preach
They only had what we call the Old Testament, and even then they probably didn’t have a personal copy to read daily

They simply put into action what they saw Jesus do

What did these people have that we need?
They had passion and commitment

Acts 2:41-47—They were committed
1. To God’s Word
2. To Others
3. To Worship

Commitment requires effort/Complacency is easy

1. Committed to God’s Word

Note in verse 42 that the new believers in Christ were “continually devoting” themselves to something

What does it mean to be continually devoted to something?
To what did the early Christians continually devote themselves?

"Continually devoting" is the idea of "giving constant attention to," or "being steadfast.” These early Christians set the proper example for us to follow in "continually devoting themselves" to some important elements for Christian life. I doubt that many of us are quite as committed. We make a false dichotomy between secular and sacred so that “Christian life" is separate and distinct from the rest of life. Being a Christian becomes merely a part of what we are, but it is not our focus or commitment. We compartmentalize our lives and then our Christian life is just another “part” of it, just another routine to mark off of our daily “to do” list. When the body does not function correctly, then both the whole and the individual parts that make it up are unhealthy.

These first Christians devoted themselves first to the “apostle’s teaching”

What is meant by “the apostle’s teaching”?

What was it that the apostles taught?

These early believers had no New Testament to read, so the teaching of the apostles probably represented teaching from the Old Testament and from the life and teaching of Jesus
This teaching became the “Word of God” to the early believers
They staked their lives on God’s communication to them via Scripture

What was happening was thoroughly rooted in Scripture. It was biblical. The Lord guided them through the teaching and preaching of his Word. (Psalm 119:9, 11, 36-38, 89-90, 105)

Now that the apostles are gone, we have their witness in the New Testament

God endeavors to lead and to teach us through Scripture
The “apostle’s teaching” for us is the Bible itself (Heb. 2:1-4)

Of course, this commitment required time and effort

To learn what God is teaching, we must take time to read his Word and act on it (2 Timothy 2:14-15)
Remember, the first believers were active participants in what was being taught by the apostles. What they were being taught was impacting their hearts and lives. They acted on it

We should do the same today—being committed to God’s Word means more than simply reading it, it means doing what it says (Heb. 4:1-2, 6-7; Romans 16:25-27)

Commitment to God’s Word requires time with and a response to God
Complacency ignores Scripture and leads to ignorance

That brings us to our next point, part of doing God’s Word is to be committed to others

2. Committed to Others

The key word here is koinonia, which means sharing, participation, contribution, or (most commonly) fellowship

The idea here is not coffee and donuts, especially since they were several centuries away
The idea is one of sharing life together

This is not a mere sentimental feeling, it is not mere uniformity or “getting along”

As Jim Davis puts it: “Church attendance is often substituted for fellowship. To some fellowship is like a jar full of marbles. The marbles are in the same jar but there is little togetherness. The marbles have little effect on each other as they roll around in a jar. They just bump into one another. But real fellowship is more like a jar of grapes that bleed on one another. Fellowship should allow our faith to rub off on one another. The first believers had real spiritual needs that led them into fellowship with others. As they came into this fellowship of other believers with the same needs, they naturally bled on one another. “

Philippians 2:1-4; 12-16
Working out our salvation is a corporate act, the “you” here is plural
The goal is to live life together, the life of Christ
Fellowship of this type is encouraging, it is focused on the cross, on humility, and on service

Our technology today conspires against this type of interaction and fellowship

This fellowship manifests itself as an intense sense of responsibility for each other (Romans 12:13; in fact, the whole chapter is good on this issue)
The early church was known for its love (1 John 3:18-19)

Does our fellowship manifest itself in how we take care of each other? Yes, but what does it say about us?

The early Christians continually devoted themselves to “breaking bread” together—they even did it daily and in each others houses

What does it mean to “break bread” together?

How would you like eating meals regularly with others in G.A.P.?

“Breaking bread” may refer to the Lord’s Supper
Of course, it could simply mean sharing a meal too (cf. Luke 24:30-32)

The early church apparently spent a lot of time with each other
Daily they worshiped at the Temple and ate together in each others’ houses

Fellowship means living life together
It means being involved in each others lives—the good and the bad, the clean and the messy—all of it

Commitment requires us to be involved in each others’ lives
Complacency results in our neglect of one another

3. Committed to Worship

We’ve already mentioned that “breaking bread” may refer to the Lord’s Supper, which was a regular act of worship among the early Christians

Whenever they met, they had a meal and commemorated Christ’s death and resurrection
But as we have already noted before, worship is not simply what we do in a building, it is what we do with and for each other

The early Christians were devoted to “the prayers”
The term here may refer to the daily prayers of the Temple and the synagogue
At the very least, this reminds us that “living life together” means to pray regularly

We are called to pray regularly and not only when “the Spirit moves”

The heart of their worship was a focus on God—who he is and what he has accomplished (2 Cor. 5:18-21)

The early believers understood that God’s love made their love for each other possible (2 Cor. 5:13-15)

God’s love and devotion made new life a reality for those who place their faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8-10)

Their experience of salvation led to worship in all of life—in how they responded to God and how they responded to each other

Their worship was both private and public

Commitment to worship requires us to focus on what is important to God
Complacency causes us to look out for our own interests

Application

This is a lot of stuff to understand. We need to remember, however, that this is not simply a list of things “to do” in order to become a healthy or committed group. We cannot simply add these three to our list and say we’re committed or healthy

We must develop the passion and attitudes that are depicted in this passage
And to do that will require self-examination and then action

Will we do it? How can we?

Here are some suggestions:

First, make up your mind that being a part of G.A.P. is not simply an opportunity to hang out with others and be a part of something. From today on, we will ask ourselves the hard questions about how to be the body of Christ and how to live by his Word and by his Spirit. This week you need to ask yourself the hard question—am I committed to helping this group of people become on fire with the passion of Christ?

Second, we need to devote ourselves to those things that are mentioned in our passage today: God’s Word, one another, and worship. Make a point this week to set aside time for each of these daily. I don’t care how much time you give (15 minutes, an hour, etc.), but make a conscious choice to spend time reading and doing God’s Word; getting involved in encouraging and supporting each other; and praying and worshipping together.

In the next three weeks, we will look more specifically at these things.

Are we committed or complacent?

One requires effort, the other is way too easy

Thanks for reading!