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SERMON SERIES God’s Playlist
SERMON TITLE …worship when I feel spiritually flat?
SERMON DATE 01/18/09
SPEAKER Jeff Paschall
TEXT Psalm 95
Dr John Stott is one of the most perceptive theologians of our time. And he identifies… 3 hungers of the human heart. 1) The hunger to matter… the desire to be significant… we want our lives to MEAN SOMETHING… and to be INVOLVED IN… things that will AFFIRM… SIGNIFICANCE… None of us want to come to the place where we end our life and realize… it didn’t really matter for ANYTHING… that we even lived. 2) Is to belong! We want to feel connected to other people without fearing risk to ourselves! We want to feel a part of a family… a community… a group that has our best interest in mind. When you walk in a room… you want to have people know you… and are encouraged you showed up! We want to BELONG… and BE KNOWN… and KNOW OTHER PEOPLE. 3) Is to believe. Not just in anything! He calls it “a quest for transcendence”. And that’s just a fancy way to say we hunger to relate to a power greater than ourselves. It takes a few screws to fall loose somewhere to think that you REALLY ARE… the TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN in the universe! We KNOW… there MUST BE SOMETHING BIGGER out there… and BURNED INTO OUR HEARTS… is this HUNGER… to BELIEVE… And if there REALLY IS a God… we long to DISCOVER Him… and KNOW Him personally… and be TOUCHED personally by Him… KNOWING He’s PLEASED with you… and ACTUALLY SEE HIM intimately WORKING in your life… …
Now, our Christian faith… MEETS THOSE DEEP NEEDS… and meets them in a way no other thing in the universe ever could! And here’s the problem… when you and I gather together to worship… at times it’s hard for us to see worship as a whole lot more than just burning time. Sometimes we’re not STIRRED… in our hearts… we’re not DEEPLY MOVED… sometimes we go away… as restless spiritually as when we came in. And I ask, “WHY? The whole point of getting here and worshipping… is to CONNECT WITH GOD!” How could it POSSIBLY BE that we get here… we sing a few songs… we open the Bible… and we leave… and we’re JUST THE SAME! What went WRONG? Why is worship ORDINARY? And I leave feeling… VAIN! Why does something intended to meet my deepest need… BORE ME?”
Well, it’s because we don’t know WHAT IT IS… HOW it works… or what our part in it is! Let’s talk about first, what worship isn’t. 1) It isn’t a “service”. It isn’t a product manufactured for you to consume. It doesn’t have anything to do with the way it’s organized. (4 songs, announcements, a message, closing song, offering) 2) And it isn’t a set up for the sermon. Worship isn’t preliminary matters. This is the message… the other 30 minutes… is worship. 3) And worship isn’t filler. You want to twist Travis’s shorts? Go up to Him and say, “Let’s sing a song so they can stretch their legs a while.” Worship isn’t elevator music to break up dead air! 4) And it isn’t, by any means, a show! It’s not something you passively watch. And so when someone asks, “What did you get out of worship today?” That’s really the wrong question!
Okay, so what is it? And how can I worship when I feel spiritually flat? It helps to understand what worship is. There are three groups of terms for worship that describe it in the Bible. 1) Words of expression. Like “confess.” Or “sing.” Or “shout.” Or “play an instrument.” There are 2) words of devotion. Like “bow down.” And “kiss.” And “honor.” These words convey respect, and love, and honor, and admiration. And then there are 3) words of service. Like “obey.” “Attend.” “Submit.” You’ll see all these today. They infer committal and indentured servitude. BUT IN ALL THREE… the IDEA of worship… It’s a RESPONSE! Worship is our total response through which we, declare His worth. It’s a response to all He IS… all He’s DONE on our behalf… it’s a response through which we express to Him what we think of Him! And it doesn’t happen… automatically!
Now Psalm 95 was used both in the temple in the OT, as well as in the church in the NT to help us do just that! It’s God’s invitation… TO WORSHIP! And it starts with a call, 1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. (now stop there) (“come” (v. 1, 2, 6) “let us” (4x). That’s the invitation! That’s the invitation from God… to draw near… leave distraction behind… and focus… at least for a time on who God is and what He’s done. And remember who it is that’s inviting you to come! Not me! Don’t get me wrong! I WANT you to be here! But I’m not the one who wrote this! GOD… invites you to come! And it’s a decision that you and I need to make… regularly. You have to elbow out time… to BE STILL… KNOW THAT HE is God… CONSTANTLY! And what’s true personally and daily is also true corporately and weekly! The Bible puts it this way, 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. The Bible doesn’t consider worshiping regularly a habit to form… it considers… NOT WORSHIPPING REGULARLY… a habit to BREAK! And if meeting together regularly for worship, encouragement and inspiration is a choice… NOT MEETING together regularly for worship, encouragement and inspiration… is ALSO A CHOICE. Everybody has REASONS… and EXCUSES… and CONFLICTS… but the point is: if you DON’T COME… AT LEAST MORE THAN YOU DO… your spiritual life… unravels!
Okay, so what do we do? Let me get really specific! We came today… and LET’S SAY… you don’t feel much like being here! Let’s say you have came… and you’re going through the motions… because you know you should… or someone might think something’s wrong if you’re not here… and you don’t want the hassle… so you’re here (I may have just torn the bed sheets off half of you right then). So you came anyway… you plopped yourself down… but deep down you’re thinking… “Eh… If I’d have slept in… it wouldn’t have been all that big a deal.” IF THAT’S YOU… (go ahead and freak out cause I just pinned you to the wall… but) ask yourself… WHERE DO I START?
Well, besides hugging other people… (which is a VERY good thing to do)… To start off… we need to remember that worship requires: 1) we prepare our mind… AHEAD of time… by pondering God! In Psalm 95… it’s an invitation to come… it’s a call to sing… be thankful… praise… but it’s not just to whip you up into a frenzied experience! You’re not singing… because singing is medicine to the soul! It says, “come… sing… shout… bow down… extol… FOR…” (and in v.3ff He GIVES the REASON WHY!) 3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In other words, a) As God, He has no rivals! There is NOTHING and NO ONE like God! The mentioning of other gods doesn’t mean the Bible acknowledges their reality… It’s a statement of God’s superiority over everything real or imagined! People worship IMAGES… people worship ANGELS… people worship gods OF THEIR OWN MAKING… But here’s the fact… The Bible says that EVERYTHING… Every force… every POWER… EVERYTHING ANSWERS TO GOD! And He has… NO RIVALS!
Forget the GREATNESS OF GOD… our universe… shrinkwraps around your tiny self… and a universe all wrapped up in yourself… is a very small package. But the MOMENT YOU see how GREAT God is… how BIG God is… How NOTHING RIVALS Him… Nothing troubles Him… Nothing is too hard for Him… You see HOW BIG HE IS… everything in our lives seems pretty small. That’s a great place to start worship!
As God he has no rivals. And b) as Creator he owns and controls everything! 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; From rocky gorges to snow capped Hymalayas… from the roaring oceans to the desert winds… every creature great and small to every virus… from colossal cosmic forces to unseen parts of molecules yet undiscovered… Everything that exists is designed BY GOD… and owes their existence TO GOD! And behind it all… is the sovereign hand of God. And worship of God… starts with you being IMPRESSED! If you’re NOT… you WON’T! You’ll probably (sing songs)… you know you might stand when asked… kneel even… but UNIMPRESSED… NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS INSIDE!
We’re impressed with all kinds of things other than God! (Blow you minds… Sun 93M, Alpha Centauri 25T, Our galaxy 600M*B, Quazar 150B*T) The FLABBINESS of our worship is traced to our failure to be impressed with God! Is the NFL playoff game you’re about to watch more impressive? See, the question is… How am I going to worship God rightly… when all these things… compete with God? They falsely pose as more awe inspiring… than the God who keeps the galaxies spinning! So when people say, We gotta WHIP UP our worship with a little more emotion… “Well, yeah! But there’s a step in front of that! Please!” DON’T FORCE EMOTION… … … HOW BIG… … IS GOD!!! Does He IMPRESS you? It’s the place to start! THEN… when you open your mouth and place your legs underneath you… something awesome is going to come out! RIGHT?!?
And if that wasn’t enough… c) As our God he claims and cares for us! 7 for he is our God (means we claim Him! But…) [and] we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care (means He claims US!)… He reveals Himself as our MAKER… and our SHEPHERD! One who knows every PART of us… and looks AFTER us… and takes CARE of us. When we prepare our minds for worship… it’s WAY MORE than just how BIG He is… after you rightly frame HIS HUGENESS… HOW UNFATHOMABLY… and FEARFULLY AWESOME HE IS… … … that ON TOP OF THAT… … … THAT SAME GOD… … … DESPERATELY LOVES YOU! … … …THAT SAME GOD… … … HAS YOU… … … and your VERY… BEST… INTERESTS… in mind! He CARES! You can’t say… He doesn’t care!!! He CARES!!!
Now, that’s where it starts. But from there it goes from Him LOVING US… to us LOVING Him BACK… And so the whole point of our worship… is that we …FEEL… deeply about God! So 2) we express our worship with emotion! And so you see… in Psalm 95… these words of EXPRESSING emotion! “let us sing for joy” “shout aloud” “thanksgiving” “extol him with music and song” “let us bow down in worship” “let us kneel before the LORD our Maker” It’s important for us to let ourselves… FEEL. When you and I worship, this is what’s supposed to happen… we offer our COMPLETE selves to God… INCLUDING our emotions! God CREATED them! He DESIGNED them! Now, I’m sure there’s a difference between expressing emotion… and putting on a bizarre display. On the other hand… a little joy… a little excitement… a little expression… ISN’T OUT OF PLACE… probably FITTING… probably wouldn’t HURT! (Boise State? they show that highlight… and will continue to show that highlight… at every Boise St. athletic event… from now to eternity… because that kind of event… will make any person feeling sick inside… to feeling uncontainable elation… in mere seconds!) You know, that’s what EMOTIONS… were MADE to do! And so somewhere between THAT… and sitting PASSIVELY staring off into space sitting HERE… is how we ought to… EXPRESS ourselves to God! You have the CAPACITY to do that… And I’m not saying you should MOB somebody on stage… But, you know a LITTLE VOLUME… IS ENTIRELY WARRANTED! An expressive BODY SWAY… ISN’T out of place! CLAPPING… even off beat… is EXPRESSING yourself physically! CRYING… isn’t off limits! EXPRESS YOUR HEART …to GOD! GOD has emotions… and he created US with emotions… LET YOUSELF FEEL! (If you worship… with as much inner enthusiasm as paying a gas bill… … … you want it to AT LEAST be an ATTEMPT… to reflect the reality of WHO GOD IS!!!) So LET YOURSELF feel… and then EXPRESS IT! It’s not enough to FEEL it… and EXPRESS NOTHING… and say, “Well I FELT it!” Men… you do that with your wife… you’re toast! EXPRESS IT! It doesn’t say, FEEL feelings of joy, and gratitude, and excitement… it says, EXPRESS them! In Psalm 95 there’s 4 verbal and 2 physical! GOD GAVE YOU <THIS TOOL>… USE IT… EXPRESS… what’s going on inside! It was MADE to do it! EXPRESS IT! (“Amen George” worships the whole time!)
This is how Jesus said it, 7“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8″ ‘These people honor me with their lips, (blaBLA, blaBLA, blaBLA) but their hearts are far from me. 9They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’[d]” (It’s all about what you can and can’t do… what you should and shouldn’t do… you just keep rules… and go through the motions…) You HEARTS are an EMPTY SHELL… WHERE’S YOU’R HEART! I MADE IT! IS IT IN THERE… somewhere?
And so in v.7 he says Today, (TODAY! RIGHT NOW!) if you hear his voice, (if God is speaking to you… if He’s laying his finger on your heart by His Spirit… “if you hear his voice…” YOU…) 8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, [a] as you did that day at Massah [b] in the desert,… Apparently developing a habit of hardening your heart to God is POSSIBLE TO DO… And David is warning people… 3) BE RESPONSIVE! So we need to be able to warn our hearts from being unresponsive! Don’t be like those people who, when they HEARD GOD… when they FELT GOD touch their hearts… they DIDN’T DO anything! They RESISTED! They SHUT DOWN! They TURNED OFF! They RATIONALIZED it away! They thought RESPONDING TO GOD wasn’t as important… as NOT LOOKING STUPID.
“Meribah” and “Massah” were named for the event’s that took place along their journey. “Meribah” means “complaining” and “Massah” means “testing”. 3 HUGE TIMES… God miraculously PROVIDES for them… and 9 TIMES… the people’s response was “complaining and unresponsiveness”. It’s this long story of how a people chosen by God… were UNBELIEVABLY DELIVERED… and from there… through their UNRESPONSIVENESS… through their “whining and complaining”… their GREAT FAITH spirals in a flaming tailspin… till in their hearts there’s nothing left… and it ends with BITTER REBELLION… and even… UNBELIEF!!!
So David ends with a warning! Because PRACTICING RESPONSIVENESS TO GOD… softens our wills! It brings us to the point where we are EASILY MOLDED! We say to Him, “WHATEVER YOU DESIRE… I’LL DO!” Not… “I can’t believe God’s not working things out better…!” “How long do I have to endure this situation? (complain, complain, complain).”
You know what’s supposed to happen when you worship? You’re supposed to REALIGN your heart with God… and REAFFIRM… your WILLING RESPONSIVENESS to His lead in your life… NO MATTER WHERE He leads! I NEED DAILY to align my heart with God… and regularly FOLLOW THE CALL OF GOD TO COME… and RESPONSIVELY say, “I will FOLLOW You GOD! I will TRUST You with my life! I RE-PLEDGE my allegiance! In the midst of all of my PRESSURES… and FAILURES… and all the DEMANDS of life… I will NOT LET… ANYTHING… SQUEEZE OUT… my love for You!”
Tozer said, “Worship is the active effort to close the gap… between the heart… and the God… it adores.” It’s expressing ALL that we are… for ALL that He is.
(Will you stand? We have a chance… to worship. We have a few more minutes… 1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, [a] as you did that day at Massah [b] in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did…)
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Unfortunately, not every blog is as good as this one!
Comment by Patrizio Haltpfalz — October 11, 2009 @ 10:51 pm
as a blogger, one wonders sometimes whether everything is right with the blog - important is the diversity of opinions as here
Comment by Michael Morris — November 2, 2009 @ 8:07 am